Jupiter Brains All Over The Walls
by alyak
Summary: Ploba has always been a mystery and doing something stupid, like messing with mysteries, will have consequences to the galaxy. Just remember you reap what you sow.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is the first fic I have written in a loong time. I'm trying to re-edit my horrible first chapters so hopefully it's a bit better.

* * *

_Antaeus System_

_Ploba_

It was called a Jupiter Brain, Ancient War Machines or simply Deep Anomalies. Nothing could reach these solid structures that were stuck in the atmospheric pressure of the planet. Tali and Adams couldn't figure out what the strange object that orbited the planet so they left it out there...floating.

It wasn't inert.

The object didn't want its function known.

The atmosphere covered the faint signatures that ran the colossal structures. It had been so long since it had surfaced. Finally the orbiting sensor had been activated unwittingly by a young Quarian and a Human male.

It waited for the ship to leave the system before it fired up the massive engines that were powerful enough to force the structures out of the planet's grip and out into space. The sensor flashed red a beam of light, rotating out seeking any obstructions that might hinder the emergence. Slowly the structures moved, their massive engines roaring with effort, the hulls shaking as they moved. Inside of the structures beings not seen by the current habitants of the galaxy and those before them awoke as they left the radiation and pressure of Ploba.

Previous scans of the structures had not shown what they looked like merely hinted at their shape. Now, in the vacuum of space the shapes were revealed. Like an Eleutherozoa that was cut in half and the segment stuck on top of the other like two Ys. The sensor disappeared and reappeared near the relay that the activating ship disappeared through. The relay activated and shot the sensor out of the system and into the network for parts unknown.

Inside of the structure, the ship, thousands of metal beings awoke from their self imposed slumber to find out what was different about the galaxy that they had left. What new beings had God let loose? Were they kind or were they cruel? One of the metal creations activated the second structure that was hidden and it's spinal, skeletal, architecture was slowly shown to the void.

The radiation of the planet over the hundreds of thousands of millennia had destroyed or corrupted most of the essential equipment of the new ship. The synthetics inside of it woke and started to fix what they could of the equipment. Time had no meaning to them, they did not sleep, did not eat they only worked to help their ship survive. Their scout was fulfilling its purpose beyond the fleet and soon they would call it back and go join the wide and wild galaxy.

* * *

_75% _

It was a grim percentage and one that the synthetics counted as a loss of immense scrapped out what they could of the twenty five percent that they could in case of further repairs. The engines were maintainable and the hull was unharmed. Slowly they activated the systems unique to the vessel and pods and pools of embryonic fluid started to glow. The pods that were too damaged by time to function were shut down and the fluid was cleaned for the working pods.

Only once did they have to jump out of the system to keep their secret. None of their fighters were ready to defend against the ships that now traveled the space lanes. The Scouting Sensor was doing her job nicely, providing the ships with news and information about their new home. The same ship that activated their Sensor was famous in this time. A war was approaching, a war that would have been like their own had it not been for a species so like their creators. They needed to have someone to spy for them, in the thick of the populous.

* * *

Somewhere, in the depths of the skeletal ship there was a high pitched cry of pain and anger and loss. The few synthetics involved with the repairs of the pods moved into womb-like room and watched the fleshy limbs of their sibling tremble in the sticky thick fluid. She was the first to awaken, whole, unblemished.

Her gaze flicked fearfully from one single red eyed visor to another gasping for the pain to leave. "Am I alive?" she asked in trepidation.

The synthetics could only glance at each other; they could not vocalize as she could. One of them stepped forward and offered her a claw-like hand. It was at first menacing and then she started to remember what she was, what they were.

_Cylons. Centurions._

With a deep breath she leaned forward and placed her hand into the Centurion's. The air was cold, her body shivered as the fluid that all Cylons of her kind were "born" in, slid off her body. Her last moments of last life caused her to slip a little as she got out of the pool. She felt the tears prick her eyes and she collapsed against the cold metal of her Centurion siblings. Sobs wracked her body and all the Centurion thought to do was hold her up as she fell apart. All those deaths, her brothers, her sisters, and they were unable to resurrect to learn from their mistakes.

Why had she been resurrected? She looked up at the Centurion holding and shook her head. "I'm sorry, thank you." She looked around at the other Centurions and gave them a shaky smile. "Thank you." Her eyes met the optical scanner of the Centurion holding her. "I need clothing."

The Centurion picked her up like a child and carried her out of the resurrection room.


	2. Chapter 2

Two years later...

Human colonies were disappearing and no one would speak of who was causing it.

She had stayed two years in the system that had once "birthed" her progenitors. Collecting what she could from the dessicated corpse of their ruined cities. Mot much remained untouched by the mutated plant life that had taken root in the ecosystem. Her travels took her to Kobol and New Caprica. Nothing remained of her brothers and sisters, she missed them, mourned them, wished for them to comfort her.

She had hid with the last of her brothers, away from prying eyes until she knew as much as she could about the races around them. As they crawled through the dead end systems of the Terminus they took out pirates and made upgrades to their systems and themselves.

She settled on going to Omega, the underbelly of the galaxy. There she could blend in and pick apart the random bits of information until she could find out what was happening to the human colonies. In the back of her mind she felt it right that she try and save what she had once tried to destroy. Even if humanity had no idea of their past.

The walkway surrounding the Nightclub known as Afterlife was busy with a multitude of races wanting to drink and dance and be around each other and apart from one another. She didn't bother to wait in line at the main entrance instead going up to the door where two batarians stood with data pads full of lists of names. One of the batarians nodded at her as she came up the stairs.

"Go on through, sweetheart." he leered and the door opened.

Six's perfect smile was stark against her tan skin and red dress. The batarian came up to her "There's another Afterlife, in the back of the markets, with a turian standing guard. Tell him that Jaruut sent you to where the real party is."

Six studied him for a moment and nodded. "I'll do that." she replied and left him at the front door.

The sides of the entrance of the club was dark with splashes of red from the holographic flames on the walls. Through the second door she could feel rather than hear the bass of the music. It was like the underground dance clubs on Virgon. Asari dancers on a floating platform surrounding a central column that showed vids of dancing asari. She looked around for something to catch her eye. There was a bar on either side but nothing hooked into her. Maybe she would take the batarian up on his offer.

She made her way back through the entrance and shot the batarian a grin. "You're right."

He chuckled. "Told ya."

* * *

Afterlife VIP was smaller but had the same throbbing of energy of it's larger sibling. She spotted the bar off to her left and went over to order a drink. Next to her was a gorgeous asari in tight black armor, eying a mousy young woman who danced timidly in a corner of the dance floor. There was something about the young woman, so fresh, a sweet blossom just starting to bloom. She ordered a whiskey on the rocks and started over to the woman. Coming closer she saw that her cloths weren't that great but she tried to be pretty.

She could feel eyes burning into her back but she didn't turn around to see who was glaring at her, or ogling her. Carefully she started to dance and let the music that pulsed through her body move her closer to the young girl. After a few moments the girl noticed her and she couldn't tell if it was the lights or she was actually blushing.

Six pounced on the moment. " The music here is very thrilling here, don't you think?" she asked with a friendly but small smile.

"Oh, y-yes it is." she answered softly, almost too soft for most people to be able to hear her but Six could.

"Just sort of carries you. Lets you shift and move like water or leaves on the wind." she replied thoughtfully.

"Like you." the girl answered shyly and Six made herself blush.

"Me?" Six took a large swallow of her whiskey and let her eyes. "That's the sweetest thing anybody has ever said to me."

That wasn't a lie, either. With her brothers and sisters she was a part of a collective and her sisters, though she loved them, did not play idle compliments. The music changed and the rhythm was lost to them so they stepped off the dance floor. The burning feeling on her body continued. It wasn't lust that was searing into her but anger.

"What's your name?" the young woman asked.

Six didn't let her smile waiver as she remembered: she didn't have a name. Her smile grew sweeter. "What do you think my name should be?"

The girl tapped her fingers on the chin in thought. It was an adorable little reaction and the girl's eyes brightened as she came to a decision. "Layla."

Six's eyebrows rose at the name and she grinned. "Layla it is, then. What is your name?"

"Nef."

"Is this your first time here too?" she asked.

"Yes."

Layla sighed in relief. "Splendid! We can experience it together and not feel like we're embarrassing each other." she put her hand to her mouth and giggled. "But only if you want to."

Nef seemed unsure but Layla's disarming smile seemed to put steel in her spine and she nodded excitedly. "Okay, that sounds like fun."

Layla placed a hand on her back and steered her to the bar. She saw the asari was eying her as if she was a rival, stalking the same prey. This young girl was going to be _her_ prey but Layla had snatched her away. Coming closer to the bar Layla sent the asari a "Don't be a sore loser" look and the asari stalked off.

"You are sadly bereft of a drink, dear." she replied softly and waved over the bartender.

Nef looked lost and smiled. "What she's having," she pointed at Layla's whiskey.

The bartender nodded and poured her a whiskey on the rocks. Nef took the glass and took a sip, letting the icy liquid travel down her throat to warm her chest and stomach. Layla smiled approvingly and spied an empty table off in a corner. The two women made their way over and Layla made an effort to to keep a comfortable distance from the younger woman.

"So what do you do, Nef?" she asked with a dazzling smile.

"I-I'm a sculptor." she answered softly.

Layla leaned forward and rested her chin on the palm of her hand. "Really? I've never met an artist before."

Nef's cheeks blossomed pink and she took a large swallow of her whiskey. "It's nothing, just something to do. What do you do?"

The question was meant to steer the conversation away from her and Layla would let it go...for now.

"I explore. Wander." she replied nonchalantly. "What do you sculpt?"

Nef brushed her hair out of her face, drawing Layla's gaze to her slim hands and her flawless cheek. "Whatever pops into my head. Sometimes its shapes or a movement that I find entrancing. Like people dancing, some of them move like water but with form and shape. I've had a couple of galleries interested in buying a couple of pieces but I-I'm not sure. I'm just dumb trash from Omega."

"You are not some dumb trash from Omega," Layla replied smoothly. "I can tell that much from these few moments with you that you have a creative spark that most would kill for. Sell your pieces! Get out of here! Go live your life!"

"I don't know..." Nef's voice trailed off with uncertainty but finished her drink. "The money _would_ help my mother and I."

Six was in. The young woman was confiding in her and she knew she hadn't lost her model's touch at seducing and lowering the guards of whoever they put their sights on. An asari waitress came over with a tray and set down two glasses of their drinks of choice with a big smile. Nef's brow furrowed as did Layla's.

"We didn't order these." Layla replied with a smile.

The waitress nodded and turned to point at the asari that Layla had competed with for Nef's attention. "She did. Don't worry she didn't touch the drinks."

Layla's smirked. "Should we take them? Put her out of her misery?"

Nef took the gift whiskey and downed most of if trying to give herself some backbone. Layla smiled and took the other drink as the waitress left them. She took a sip of the drink and raised her glass to toast the asari across the dance floor. It was a foolhardy move but she was confident she could beat the asari again. A thought of seeing how far she could push this little artist in front of her flitted across her mind.

The music got louder and Nef scooted closer so that she could listen to whatever Layla had to say. The waitress brought another round of drinks. Layla's body could metabolize the whiskey faster than Nef's and she could see the younger woman's eyes go hazy. She smiled and placed a hand on Layla's leg.

"My dear Nef," Layla whispered, her lips delightfully close to the girl's ear. "You've had too much to drink."

"Maybe what they say is true." Nef answered back. "A drunk person does what a sober person wishes to do."

"So you would never try to seduce a beautiful woman sober?" she teased.

"I would be too afraid to." Nef choked.

"You have fire coursing through you're veins." Layla chuckled. Her hand lay over Nef's and she slid her fingertips over her wrists.

"Maybe you should put it out."

Nef shivered as their whiskey laden breath mingled and she tilted her head back and pushed herself up. Layla met her lips halfway, slipping her arms around her waist and pulling her closer her. Fire burned in her body and Nef slipped her hands through her hair to keep herself attached. Their tongues sought each other out and dueled top put out the flames their bodies held.

Layla pulled herself away, reluctantly, from the delicious body."Lets get out of here."

"Can't go to my place." Nef growled. "My mother."

"I-I have a ship." she grinned. "With a beautiful bed and you would look beautiful on it."

"Take me to bed, Layla."


	3. Chapter 3

Another chapter done and this time I'm sober. YAY!

Steamy first bit

* * *

The Six named Layla was lying naked next to a woman who was as skillful with clay and metal as she was with flesh. Her lips trailed over her lover's body like droplets of rain that quenched the skin and the soul. Layla had let herself ride out the impending wave like a twig with one shiny green leave. Limbs tangled together, sweat lubricating their joints and cooling their bodies. Soft sighs and heavy gasps filled the room. Crescendoing until two sharp cries ending the piece.

They lay, satisfied, fulfilled, on the large silky bed that made up the centerpiece of the cabin inside the ship Layla had stolen. The pirates who once owned the ship were dead before they could get to their intended prey. A silky haired head lay on her shoulder and an arm wrapped itself over her stomach.

"I've never felt anything like that before." Nef breathed, squeezing Layla's stomach lightly.

Layla kissed Nef's forehead and smiled into her sweat dampened hair. "Neither have I. My dear Nef you have hands that would make the angels weep."

She felt Nef's curve in smile and then felt those same lips on her skin in a feathery kiss. "I think I made you weep a few times."

"That you did. Does that make me an angel?"

Nef stretched her body against hers and propped herself up on a elbow. "You do look like one." she blushed.

"Hearing that from you is high praise." Layla copied her movements and looked over her shoulder to the clock that was set to Omega's time. It was very early in the morning.

Nef noticed the time as well and sighed sadly. "Are you staying on Omega long?"

Layla smiled sadly and brushed back a lock of hair that had fallen over her face. "I don't know. I'm looking for information on something important... Would you miss me?"

Nef looked down at the crumpled sheets. "I think I would. I'm not a slut."

Layla frowned. "I never said you were but I'm also not making any claims on you. If you want to spend more time with me then I would love to be around you."

Nef got out of the bed and padded over to the shower. "I wish I could stay longer but I have to get back to my mother. She'll be worried."

"Of course," Layla replied and rolled out of the bed grabbing a silky blue robe from off a nearby chair. The fabric felt cold against her skin. "I'll make breakfast. Anything in particular you want?"

"No, I'll eat whatever you make." the reply from beyond the sliding metal door that separated them.

Layla exited her quarters and made her way to the galley of the ship. She passed a few Centurions and smiled at them in greeting. They paid no mind to mind to her robed state. They had seen her in far less many times before and it did not offend them.

"You have the strangest mechs." Nef replied coming into the galley. "One of them was making your bed."

Layla spun around and grinned at her. A spatula was in her hand and the smell of real eggs and bacon wafted through the air. Nef wore the clothing that she had worn to the club but her hair was clean and soft. She across the galley and reached up to give Layla a soft kiss on the lips.

"Really? Well I'll just have to thank them." she replied and inhaled the scent of her shampoo in the girl's hair. The vanilla and apple scent was better suited to Nef than herself.

"I did that already out of habit." Nef replied sheepishly looking over Layla's shoulder to the two frying pans on the stove. "Is that real eggs and bacon? I haven't had that in ages!"

Layla's grin went lopsided and shrugged. "I have connections."

Killing pirates and pillaging their food stores and fuel after they were asphyxiated by their own 'malfunctioning' life support systems. This ship was a prize from one such attack and it suited her purpose well for when she couldn't use the baseship.

"There is juice in the fridge and glasses are in the shelf to the left of the fridge. Hope you like scrambled eggs because that's all I can make." she replied turning back to the stove.

She heard the clinking of glasses and the opening of the fridge. It was a nice scene to be in and she almost wished that it wouldn't go away. Maybe Nef wouldn't act like the Colonials and try to not hate her. The bacon was nice an crispy without being burnt and the eggs were fluffy and marbled white and yellow. She turned off the stove and slid the eggs and bacon onto two plates nearby.

Nef was just pouring orange juice into two glasses when she exited the galley into the mess area. She looked up and smiled at the food. "That smells delicious."

Layla carefully put the plates down and sat next to Nef who picked up a slice of bacon and took a hardy bite. The pleasure that swept over Nef's face at the taste of real bacon from the pig made Layla giggle. They matched their pace bite for bite the hunger their lovemaking worked up causing them to wolf down their food. Layla was finishing drinking her juice when Nef turned and kissed her hand.

"That was the best breakfast I've ever had." she blushed.

Layla caressed her cheek and wiped a fleck of egg off the corner of Nef's lips. "My pleasure. Now let me get dressed and I'll walk you home. I don't want anything to happen to you."

She got up and took the plates and her glass to be cleaned later, leaving Nef to finish her juice in peace.

The Centurion who was straightening her room when she came in looked up, a dainty pair of pink panties in its metal hands. Layla blushed and gently took it away from him.

"Thank you," she replied softly and kissed the Centurion just under his optical visor. "I'm going to walk her home after that I'm going to go see if there is any news."

The terminal on her desk flashed on. "Another Colony attacked: Horizon. Half of the colonists gone."

"Shit!" Layla hissed and glared at the Centurion. "Why didn't you tell me earlier?"

The Centurion pointed at the panties and then at the bed. The gesture meant: You were busy. She quickly threw on a black jumpsuit and laced on a pair of mid calf black boots. Her hair was pulled back by a couple of barrettes. It was an unassuming look and easy to move in. She slipped on a gun belt and made sure it had enough heat clips in it.

"Have the ship ready to leave when I get back so we can meet up with the baseship." she replied and started for the door. "Thank you."

Nef was waiting for her by the airlock with a couple of Centurions standing guard like two silver sentinels. They straightened as she came forward and Nef gave her a relieved smile. Layla returned it with a reassuring on and hooked her arm with Nef's. The airlock opened to the docks where her ship was and they made their way down the street past Afterlife. The ship wasn't far from the tenement that Nef shared with her mother. They stopped in front of her door and Nef gave Layla a sad look.

"How long will you be here?" she asked.

"I'm leaving as soon as I get back to the ship but I'll be back as soon as I can." Layla gave her a concerned look. "I won't forget you if you don't forget me."

She slipped her finger under Nef's chin and lifted her face up so that their eyes met.

"I promise I will come back." she replied and pressed her lips together in a sweet kiss.

"I won't forget about you." Nef replied quietly. "I have to get inside before my mother wakes up."

Layla watched her sadly as the sculptor pressed in the entrance code to her apartment and slip inside. She didn't know how long she stood there but a buzzing of her comm told her that she needed to get back to her ship. Her feet carried her in a sprint that matched a gazelle so that she could be gone and back quicker.

-

The baseship met them right outside the asteroid field that held Omega and the pirate ship slipped inside the largest hanger bay where the heavy raiders were housed. The FTL drive was already spooling up as they docked and Layla ran towards the command center where she could oversee the Hybrid's jump. She slid past Centurions as they went about their business muttering 'excuse me' and 'sorry' if she had to move or hit them. It was easier to think of them as brothers than as servants. They had saved her, the last of her kind, and they had a connection to each other.

Two of the Centurions were inside the command center waiting for her. They were hooked into the central console and looked up to watch her enter. She pushed up her sleeve and slipped her hand into the clear liquid that conveyed her requests.

_Ready for jump._

The Centurions could not communicate vocally but the data stream allowed them direct feed to each other, the hybrid and her if she was in the stream.

_Take us to Horizon._ She replied and the ship fired its FTL drive causing the asteroids around it to coming crashing together at the sudden loss of mass.

Through the stream she watched the planet where Horizon resided pop into view. She switched to a scanning mode to see what type of trails she could see. Two distinct signatures were found, one was Alliance or something of that nature and the other was different. It was not like any signature by any engine she had encountered in her short time in this new galaxy.

_Calculate the trajectory of this ship._ She ordered the Hybrid.

It took only a few seconds for the calculations and the Hybrid showed her what systems the ship might have gone to. Four systems were on the list one of them near Alliance Space and two of them near the Galactic Core.

_Send scout Raiders. Have them attach themselves to the ship and open trackers until we can catch up. If they aren't there then have them set up a tracking position until they do. _

She pulled her hand out of the console and looked up at one of the Centurions. Luckily the ships that they had plundered from had revealed many systems that were rarely visited by any but the pirates. The charts made for incredibly accurate FTL jumps that would make the best navigator blush from embarrassment.

For hours it seemed that she paced the center until a Centurion motioned for her to leave the room. She pleaded silently for him to let her stay but was politely rebuffed. Frowning she left the room for the adjoining office area with its sleek white and silver furniture. There was a terminal on the desk that interfaced with the comm. buoys the Alliance and its allies used to communicate. Lazily she scrolled through dozens of articles pertaining to the Collectors and then she switched to the classified sections.

The Colonials learned that Cylons were masters at hacking and that fact had not changed in all these millennia. It had taken her a blink of an eye to slip through the Alliance firewalls without calling attention to herself. There was talk of a dead Spectre, a lot of talk in fact. He was working for Cerberus, a paramilitary human first party headed by someone called The Illusive Man. She read over every report known about this Illusive Empire and grew sickened. Humanity first no matter what. Experiments to further advance human technology and genetics and goals while losing their humanity in the process.

Cerberus was after the Collectors. Were they looking for acceptance or something much more sinister. She would have to met this Illusive Man and maybe kill him if she deemed it necessary for the preservation of the human race. He couldn't get a hold of her body though. Humans with resurrection would disastrous.

In the back of her mind she heard the metallic clanking of metal feet belonging to a Centurion. She looked up and it. "You found something?" it nodded and she dashed out of her chair, causing it to fall over.

She slid to the center console just in time to see them exit FTL over a ship to ship combat. It was a turian vessel and it was getting hammered by the Collector ship. It had to have been the Collector ship the signature was the same as Horizon.

"Open a channel to the turian vessel."

"This is Captain Peltrasius of the Turian frigate Parthian Rage state your business."

"We are here to offer assistance. Fall back and let my Raiders disable the ship." Layla replied over the center's comm.

_Parthian's shields down to 30%_

"You're shields are going to fail soon, Captain. Get the hell out of here!" she cried.

_Deploying 1st and 3rd squadrons to knock out the Collector ship's engines. _

"Mass Effect Drive is down we can't jump." The turian captain replied evenly

"Affirmative Captain, get behind us we'll try and hold them off." she replied.

_Enemy ship's engines are off line. Life support functioning. Shields down._

_Datamine their systems. Expect heavy firewall and virus defenses. Scan the ship for human life forms._ She ordered the ship's second hybrid

The centurions could not save the resurrection ship as a whole but the hybrid and most of the resurrection pools had been saved. Layla had made it a point to use the hybrid if a electronic warfare suite and centurion anchor. The main hybrid stayed hooked into the ship and kept its main function. The hybrids were far more sophisticated than any AI that the present species could design and she moved faster than most computers.

_Datamine complete. Partitioning hard drives for maximum security. 21,365 viruses detected. 2 days until analysis complete. _

_300 human life signs aboard. Centurions wish to launch rescue party._

"Parthian Rage to unidentified vessel, our thanks. Reinforcements on the way. ETA: 2 hours."

"There are 300 humans hostages aboard that ship, Captain. I'm sending in a rescue team."

"Affirmative, ma'am. Rescue teams will be standing by. Launching when you're ready."

Layla shut off the comm. and turned to the nearest Centurion. "Get a Heavy Raider and twelve Centurions ready I'm going to go to the ship and see what they do to the Colonists."

The Centurion nodded and turned back to the console to do as she asked.


	4. Chapter 4

Hopefully this goes up easier then the last two chapters.

* * *

The Centurions had her armor and helmet aboard the Heavy Raider when she boarded. They lifted off effortlessly with years of practice and they did not react to her striping off her jumpsuit and boots for the hard carapaces of her armor. The weight and feel of the under suit made her stance change, stiffen, straighten. Her assault rifle on her back and heavy pistol on her hip comforted her. She was armed, she was shielded and she was not alone.

She turned to the Centurions that were going to accompany her aboard. "We need to plan this out. When we get aboard two Centurions will stay and guard the ship. The rest of us will meet up with the Turians and release the hostages. Unless they attack us first do not fire on the Turians we want them to trust us."

They exited the Heavy Raider, weapons drawn with Layla at point. The Collector ship was hive like, a mix of sleek black metal and glowing yellow honey combs. The light from the multitude of glowing sacks paint a sunny glow on the Centurions and their red optics scanning the corridor for hostiles. Her comm. buzzed signaling someone was on her frequency.

"This is Commander Mycius of the _Parthian_ _Rage_, do you copy?" the flanging voice of a turian asked.

"I copy Commander this is Six." she answered. It was no point in giving them the name she had adopted from Nef. Just let her be another Six model. Just another Cylon.

"Our ship's ladar puts you on the port side of the ship. We'll go around to the starboard side and meet you near the middle."

"Copy that. Meet you there." she replied and came around the bend.

There were pods in groups of twos and threes littering the corridor. They were the same pods used to abduct the Colonists from the vids she saw from the Alliance Intel network. Some of them were still steaming from recent use. She continued at a quicker pace, wanting to _know _where the Colonists were. They came around a corner and off to the side like a garbage heap was a mound of human bodies. It was a mash of grey matter and limbs and torsos, some separate from their sibling limbs.

"Dear God." she gasped.

"What?" Mycius asked.

"Found a mound of discarded bodies." she choked.

"All human?" the turian asked.

"Yes." she bent closer to the pile. All of the separation points were clean cuts, no ripping from joints and some of the torsos had been dissected like a science project. "I think they might have been subjects from some sort of experiment."

"See any hostages?"

"Not yet." she stood and waved for the Centurions to keep moving.

One of her Centurion brothers took point letting Layla have a chance to fully investigate their surroundings. Off to in her periphery she saw the point Centurion flip out his guns and she heard a strange clicking sound, like a beetles but fleshier. Her right hand reached behind her for her assault rifle and pulled it off its magnetic holster. It unfolded in her grasp, ready for use. A group of Collectors came around the corner, their rifles ready on them.

"Hostiles!" she cried through her comm. and opened fire, kneeling in front of the rest of the Centurions so they wouldn't hit her on accident.

The Collectors were not equipped with mass effect shields like she or the Centurions and were quickly put down. Behind them was a trio of work metal tables with consoles. She activated her omni-tool and waved it down the center consoles screen, linking it in with her and through her the hybrid on the baseship. Information rang back and forth through her like waves colliding, raw data and then the translations coming back for her to understand. They were doing genetic comparisons between them and humans but the reasons why eluded her.

"Come on," she sighed and her omni-tool disappeared.

One of the Centurions had gone on ahead as a scout and came stomping back pointed farther down the corridor and waving to come along She followed his arm upwards to see. Above them in tunnel like structures were dozens of pods, glowing yellow from the inside. The reassurance from the hybrid telling her that there were 300 humans aboard made her rush over to the wall on the nearest alcove. She could hear a few of the Centurions follow after her. With her gloved hands she tried to find enough of a purchase for her to climb up but the spongy cartilage-like structure wouldn't let her. She growled in frustration and slammed her fist into the wall.

The corridor lifted to a ramp and she followed it upwards where the distance to the alcove was shorter. Even with her increased strength she could barely grab hold of the edge. One of the Centurions grabbed hold of her knees and helped her lift herself up. Without another glance she went up to the pod and tried to peer in. Inside was a Colonist, male, and he was unconscious.

"Oh my God!" she cried and looked for a lip that would operate as a door edge. "I found the Colonists!"

"What?" Mycius asked in disbelief.

"I found some of them! They're in pods with an amber-like substance as a view port." she replied quickly and pried the pod open.

The Colonist fell forward but she caught him before he could hit the ground. A vapor escaped the inside of the pod with a hiss. The man in her arms groaned and his eyes fluttered open. She helped him to the ground and leaned him against the pod. He shook his head to get rid of the grogginess and looked up at her.

"Who are you? Where am I?" he asked hoarsely.

"My name is Six and you're aboard the Collector's ship but not for long." she replied calmly. "We are going to get you out of here."

The man saw her hopeful smile and he reciprocated with a shoddy brother of it. She had to get the man up and moving though he wouldn't be able to do much.

"What's your name?" she asked.

"Egan Morrison."

"What Colony are you from Egan?"

"Horizon."

"Stay here and catch your breath." she soothed and went to another pod.

"Mycius to Six we have contact with hostiles and we've found more of your colonists. They say they're from Horizon." the turian replied in her ear.

"Do the pods run up to the ceiling?" she asked opening another pod.

"Up to, over, they're everywhere." he replied. "There is no way we can get all of these pods open without turning off the gravity."

"Turning off the gravity will also turn off life support." another turian replied.

"I'd rather not risk it." Layla laying the colonist on the ground so that Egan could deal with them. She went back over to the ledge and looked down at the Centurions. "See if you can't find a console and hook it up to hybrid. Kill any Collectors you see. We can't let them get near the Colonists. How long until more ships arrive?"

"Little over an hour. If you don't mind me saying Six I have never seen a ship like yours before. What make is it?"

"It's the only one of its kind and it's a secret." she snapped and saluted the Centurions that split from the group to find the console.

The rest of the Centurions spread out to take guarding positions around the alcoves. Egan followed Layla as she pried open pods and helped out the Colonists. All of them were groggy from their time spent in the pods. Their ages varied, the Collectors didn't discriminate on who they took. Young, old, man, woman, all of them were in the pods. Behind her she heard the whispered voices of some of the Colonists and some were weeping.

"Where's my son?"

"Is she with the Alliance?"

"What happened?"

"My God! Those monsters!"

"We can't just sit here!"

"Do you see these mechs?"

"Egan? Should we help?"

"What's going to happen to us?"

The Colonists' fear was palpable but underneath it she felt the will to survive. It reminded her of New Caprica and the memory made her hands slip on one of the pods. So much suffering, on her part, on the Collectors' part...so much suffering. Her actions started to become a routine. Pry open the pod, lay the human down and move on whether they were alive or not. The tunnel bent upwards and she tried to climb higher to get more of the Colonists. Her boots slipped on a pod and she fell. A pod below her stopped her descent but she struck her head and when she prodded the injury and her finger came back wet with blood.

"Are you alright up there?" Egan asked as he came closer.

"Yeah." Layla moaned and sat up to stare up at the pods above.

They were so close and yet just out of reach. She sighed and activated her omni-tool so that it could disperse medi-gel onto the wound. She had wished that they had medi-gel during the time in the fleet. It could have saved hundreds of bodies and caused less resurrections. Some thirty Colonists, a tenth of the total number on board, stared up at her as she made her way back down.

"_Parthian_ _Rage_ to ground teams." her comm. buzzed. "We have a ship coming out of FTL. It's the _Sojourn_."

"Is it big enough to hold the Colonists?" she asked quickly.

"It's an asari cruiser, almost as big as the _Destiny_ _Ascension_." Mycius answered.

Layla muted her comm. so that the turians couldn't hear her. "My brothers! We need to get the hell out of here!" she shouted jogging over to the edge. The Centurions standing watch looked up at her and at each other.

"We're patching them into the comm." Peltrasius replied.

"_Parthian_ _Rage_ this is the _Sojourn_. We are reading that your mass effect drive is down and you have minimum hull damage." an female sounding voice replied over the comm.

"Affirmative _Sojourn_." Peltrasius replied. "We also have a team aboard the Collector's ship releasing human hostages."

"Copy that _Parthian_. Deploying available shuttles for pick up."

The Colonists cheered and started to hug each other in relief. Hopefully their waking nightmare was about to end.

She deactivated the mute so that she could talk to the Rage's Captain. "Six to _Parthian_ _Rage _there are Colonists from Horizon on the port side of the ship and more of them are still in the pods."

"Copy that Six," the turian replied. "Did you read that _Sojourn_?"

"Copy that _Parthian_ _Rage_. There looks to be a large opening at the bow of the Collector ship. We'll bring our shuttles there just stay where you are."

The Centurions that had gone off to find a console reappeared and through her omni-tool gave her a map to the large opening the _Sojourn_ had spoke of. The hybrid also had their FTL drive spun up and ready as did the Heavy Raider that they came in. Layla turned back to the Colonists and muted her comm. again.

"I have to leave you now." she replied. "The Council or the Alliance cannot get a hold of me or my brothers and my ship. I'm going to destroy the Collectors for what they've done but I have to leave to do that. Please don't think that I don't care about you."

"You should leave before they come after you ma'am." Egan replied. "We'll be fine. Good luck."

Layla nodded and jumped down from the ledge. She grinned up at the Centurions and they started back the way they came and their Heavy Raiders. Some of the Colonists followed them a short way but turned back to their fellows to help open up more of the pods that Layla couldn't reach. The Heavy Raider was practically shaking with repressed energy when they came back to it. The flight was fast and Layla could feel its movement in the pit of her stomach.

As soon as it entered the hangar the baseship jumped leaving the turian and asari vessel alone with the Collector ship. Layla wanted to be long gone from the system and the people she left behind. She wanted to feel warm hands and soft skin against hers instead of form fitting synthetic fabric and armor.


	5. Chapter 5

Whee! Next chapter. sorry it took so long.

* * *

Leaving the Collector ship and the humans on board was a hard decision and she wished that she could have stayed. If she had been less of a coward and worked alongside of the Council ships they would welcome her and her brothers. She would have to ask her silent brothers if they wished to be known to the humans and other species that inhabited this galaxy. It was not up to just her anymore or her kind. Humanoid Cylons made their predecessors servants and she was left holding the bag.

It was an interesting prospect. Going through the steps of respect and acceptance and love that humans would have to go through if they created an AI that demanded its rights as a sentient being. The Quarians would have to have done the same if they hadn't turned on their creations. She looked up at the Centurions she was surrounded by walking the corridors of the baseship and she wanted to hug one just to see what they would do.

When the Centurions renovated the baseship they kept the furniture and clothing of the other models and she was glad of it. One of her sisters had adored bubble baths and she remembered coming into her sister's room to see her up to her neck in fluffy lavender tinted bubbles. She would laugh and try to blow a handful of bubbles at her.

She arrived at her room and started to pull at the clasps and latches that held her armor in place. The plates on her arms and shoulders came first to the middle of the room and then the breastplate and back in a pile at the center. Her boots and leg plates landed by the empty tub beautiful and elegant, white and warm to the touch. Unlike the water being hot in a cold tub it was body temperature water going into a self heating tub. She stripped off the black bodysuit that protected her skin from chaffing and melee damage and her bra and panties leaving her skin to tense in the slightly cool air.

The water felt lovely as she climbed in and submerged herself in its embraced. Her muscles slowly relaxed and she rested her head on the rounded back edge of the tub her neck contouring to the surface. Cold, thin fingers ran through her hair making her body shiver at the touch. She didn't need to open her eyes to see that it was a Centurion; they were the only ones besides her on the ship. The combing of her hair didn't stop and she sighed at the intimate touch. The Centurions other hand trailed up from her jaw and over her cheek though the very thin tapers had folded in to replicate fingers better. Its thumb ran over her lips and she opened her eyes to look up at the red optic above her.

Searing thoughts of cool metal hands caressing her skin igniting her senses and overwhelming her body with pleasure made her want to get out of the tub and try and seduce her brother-at-arms. The reality would not turn out as well. She would be frustrated by the lack of emotion she would feel from him. She would seethe silently until she would explode and do something stupid. Her brother wiped a tear that had unknowingly escaped from her eye off her cheek.

"Thank you, brother." she whispered. "You're very kind."

The Centurion stepped away from the tub and started to pick up her armor. Was he doing it out of remembrance from an old sub-routine? Her brows knit together in a frown.

"Brother, you don't need to do that."

The Centurion looked up at her from his mid crouch and then down at the pauldron he was about to pick up. He looked back at her and picked up the piece of armor. It was as if he was testing her. Was this Centurion becoming snarky? Were the Centurions even capable of it? She must be going mad to be thinking of this now. He waved for her to get back to bathing and she warily looked away from him and towards getting clean.

* * *

The next day she decided to wear a nice light dress that let her move in comfort as opposed to the stiff confines of armor. The baseship was parked in a dense nebula, away from prying eyes of the outside world. Layla lay on her side next to the sunken tub of the hybrid. She was hooked into the data stream along with the second hybrid, picking through data to see what the Collectors were doing with the humans and how they could get to them.

All hybrids looked the same, a young woman with brown hair, angelic features. They spouted gibberish, a mix of instructions and other words. She never paid them any mind, too busy doing other things with her brothers and sisters to come up to the hybrid and listen. Layla let her gaze drift to the milky white fluid the hybrid was submerged in and let the white fill her mind. Bits and pieces of the data they were analyzing started to coalesce to form a bigger picture. The Omega 4 Relay was tuned to a different frequency, like a piano tuned slightly off key. The difference in cords would cause the ship to drift into a nearby black hole.

An artificial construct near a black hole.

Layla could help but laugh at the irony. Slowly she 'unhooked' herself from the data stream and sat up. She curled her legs indian style and placed the bowl of fruit in the hole between her legs. As she ate the juicy pieces she processed the information she wanted. It was like the Colony, she could destroy this station without little to no planning, if she was careful. Send a Raider through the relay with the 'tuned' frequency and jump the baseship in without difficulty. They needed the module used to go through the relay and it would need to be constructed by scratch.

There was no way she was going to be able to construct such a module on her own. Somewhere, someone must be able to make it and not ask any questions. She had the software, she just need the damned hardware and there was no way for her to go back to the Collector ship and pick it up. She shouldn't regret saving the Turian vessel. They owed her, and she was going to ask them to pay up...someday. Not today though, it was too early.

Omega was the safest place to find someone to make the module. Maybe not the safest bodily wise but she wasn't a shrinking violet. Pop in take the pirate ship to the station and meet the baseship for a test run. Maybe she could hire a couple of mercs to go with her, a biotic could be useful as well. Her fingers dipped into the bowl to fish out another piece of fruit and found that it was empty. She had eaten it without realizing it. She could see Nef too...if the girl was available. Nothing inappropriate...this time. Just a touch of companionship with a being that could talk back.

* * *

A Batarian was waiting at the docking bay when she exited the ship with two of her brothers. She was in the black jumpsuit and black boots that she wore the last time she was on the station. On one hip was a pistol and the other a large knife. There was no way to be on the station without being armed.

"Aria wants to see you." he sneered at the Centurions. "Without your mechs."

She turned to her brothers. "No worries. I'll be back later." she turned back to the batarian. "Lead on, good sir."

He snorted and walked away, Layla following behind him. The crowd seemed to part for them or maybe it was just for this batarian. Did Aria's men command that much respect or was it just Aria? Whoever this woman was she was in Afterlife. They made their way to the back of the club and up a set of stairs to a balcony that held a handful of armed aliens and an asari wearing a white short jacket with the Omega symbol on her back. Layla had the good sense to not snort at the ridiculous self promotion. The Batarian that brought her here left and another stepped up and activated his omni-tool.

She let him scan her, she had nothing to hide. The asari, Aria, turned to face her. Her demeanor was like any other crime boss worth his, or her cubits, cold, calculating and slightly arrogant. Layla was going to let her speak until she was spoken to.

"You are not what I expected," Aria started.

"That is not the first time I've heard that." Layla smirked. "But what does someone with your status want with me?"

"I want you to get rid of someone."

"Indeed?" Layla quirked an eyebrow in feigned interest.

"A very powerful asari, you may have run into her in the VIP Room." Aria gestured for her to take a seat on the couch to the right of her. "She's an Ardat-Yakshi, a genetically defective asari who kills any being she joins with. She's been preying on my customers for days, has a girl you 'know' in her thrall now. I want you to get her off my station before the Justicar that is hunting her comes here."

"And? What do I get out of this?" Layla asked

"I don't tell Shepard about you."

Layla chuckled. "You are going to have to do better than that. I couldn't care less about Shepard- but you can find me someone who can construct something for me. Something small, that only I have the plans for and can come with me. _Not_ one of your people either. You do that and I'll get the Ardat-Yakshi off your station."

Aria seemed to mull it over and nodded. "Alright, I'll get a list together for you. Come back here when you're done."

Layla did not wait for Aria to dismiss her to leave the balcony and the club. She was gone from the station for three days and Nef had moved on to an alien that wanted to kill her. The walk from Afterlife to Nef's apartment was a short one. She pressed the buzzer on the door and waited for someone to answer. She waited for a few minutes turned to leave.

"Layla? Is that you?" Nef's voice asked over a speaker hidden in the door somewhere.

Layla turned back to the door and smiled. "Yes, it's me. May I come in?"

The display on the door turned from red to green. "Come on in."

The apartment Nef shared with her mother was small; it could fit in one of the rooms on the baseship. They both deserved better. The door closed behind her and another door opened to reveal Nef in shorts and a tank. She smiled sheepishly at the blond and came closer. Her arms slipped around her waist and the shorter girl's head nuzzled up to her bosom. Layla's arms wrapped around the girl and she laid her head on top of hers.

"You thought I forgot about you?" Layla teased.

Nef looked up at her. "No, but it's good to see you again." she stepped away from her and Layla let her arms drop.

Layla took her by the hand and steered her towards the small couch nearby. "Come, tell me what you've been up to since I've been gone!" she beamed and lounged on the couch, pulling Nef down with her.

Nef shrugged and Layla swore she could see a slight blush. "Not much, just been working on a piece and going to the VIP Room. I met an interesting asari there. Her name is Morinth and she moves like a jungle cat from Earth."

Morinth must be the Ardat-Yakshi Aria spoke of. Layla fought to keep her smile intact. "And? Go on?"

"There's something about her, it's like her body is some sort of temple of a dark place that only few fear to tread and if you do then you would be rewarded beyond your wildest dreams." Nef answered quickly. "She's very glamorous. You should come with me to the club and meet her. She's been to lots of places and so have you. You would have so much to talk about!"

"I would love to come to the club with you dear but that's hours from now." Layla replied sweetly and swept back the hair that was in Nef's face. "What would we do until then?"

Nef shrugged and ran her hand down Layla's arm. "I don't know. We can go back to your ship or we can stay here..."

Nef was uncertain about being around her after their night together. She needed to reassure her that she was safe with her no matter where she was.

"You said you were a sculptor." Layla bit her bottom lip shyly. "May I see some of your work?"

Nef's grin lit up like a supernova and she wrenched Layla off the couch and into her little room. There was a portable terminal on her bed that she quickly closed and dropped it onto a nearby desk. The room was barely big enough for the bed and a few boxes and a desk. Near the door was a toilet and a sink but she didn't see a shower. Her sculptor was busy opening boxes and pulling out small busts and other molded objects. Each was beautiful and wonderful; some were heart-wrenching and heart-warming in their own way. She marveled at the pieces, wondering how such beauty could come from a place of such filth.

"These are beautiful, Nef." she breathed, running her fingers over one that felt like fossilized feathers.

"I've had a few offers from some galleries," she held a figure wistfully. "I just don't know how to part with them."

"But to not share this is criminal." Layla replied. "Such work should be adored by the masses not hidden away."

"You think? I guess I'm just frightened of people not loving what I love."

Layla couldn't help but laugh softly at her little friend. "Nef, who couldn't love what you love with work such as this?"

Nef slid across her small bed to pull Layla into a soft kiss that made her breath sigh out of her body. "You're the first person ever to make me believe that about my work. Hearing it from my mother and strangers didn't take to me as much as you saying it."

"Glad I could be of service." Layla replied playfully. She pulled the young girl close and leaned back on the bed so that she was reclining against the wall with Nef sprawled across from her.

She bit back a yawn but Nef caught it and frowned.

"You're not acclimated to the time yet, are you? What time did you dock?"

"About a half an hour ago."

"You should get some rest if we're going to the club tonight." Nef started to get up but Layla stopped her. "You don't want to go back to your ship?"

"Only if you come with me. You can help me get ready for your new friend?" Layla batted her eyes and Nef smirked.

"If that will get you to take a nap then yes I'll go with you." she replied playfully and crawled off the bed. "Come on."

Her brothers were at their post with their artillery out for show... or maybe because they shot an alien recently. Layla's gaze flicked from the yellow stain on the wall to her brothers and then to Nef who edged closer to her. The Centurions put their guns back into their forearms and stepped out of the way for Layla and her guest to enter. The outer door to the airlock opened and Layla ushered her inside.

"Looks like someone tried to steal your ship or your mechs." Nef replied calmly as the air cycled through and the inner door opened. Layla must have looked at her oddly because she shrugged. "I've seen far worse than that, Layla."

She stretched up onto her toes and placed a tiny kiss on cheek. Layla smirked and guided her back to her cabin. They undressed silently, leaving on their undergarments and they climbed underneath the light covers and dimmed the wall lights. Nef curled herself against Layla and Layla let her body heat lull her to a peaceful sleep.

* * *

Layla woke the sound of someone singing in the shower. For a moment Layla forgot who was with her and then she let a smile crack her sleepy face. Stealthily she got out of her and took off her panties and tank to surprise her companion. She slid open the shower's foggy door and stepped into the shower. Nef stopped singing at the sound of the door and turned to smile at her.

"I'm sorry I didn't wake you." she replied as she moved out of the way for Layla to get to the spray.

"No need to apologize." she replied cheerily.

She took a soap bottle out of the cradle and poured some of the thick fluid into her palm. The scent of papaya filled her nose and she lathered it onto her skin. The hot water and tropical scent invigorated her. Nef was openly admiring her body and two small hands crossed the distanced to caress her breasts and flat stomach. The light touch made Layla's muscles ripple and she let out a soft gasp.

"You sure you want to do that?" she smirked.

Nef answered her smirk with one of her own. She had been so shy just a few days ago and this goddess in front of her changed that drastically.

"Why don't you finish up with your shower and I'll rummage through your closet."

She practically skipped out of the bathroom and head straight for the woman's closet. Layla grinned as she finished her shower. It didn't take long and she turned off the water and stepped out of the shower.

Wrapping a towel around her torso she made her way into her cabin. Nef was busy throwing random pieces of clothing on the bed though she had already put on a dark green dress. Before the young artist could pick for her she grabbed a few random pieces of clothing and put them on. The less time she was naked the better off she was. Nef turned around from her rummaging and eyed Layla's choice in clothing.

"That was quick." she quipped.

Layla looked down at her outfit and shrugged. She was wearing gold pants that encased her legs as if they were molten gold and her black top draped low enough to show the flawless skin she possessed. She wore gold ankle boots that made her legs astronomically long.

"Hard habit to break." she replied picking up her pistol and strapping it into a holster on her back. The loose folds of her shirt hid it from view but she could reach it if needed. "You look adorable. Let's go."

The VIP was just as it was three days ago

"Morinth!" Nef cried over the din and music that thrummed through the room.

The asari that Layla had competed against on her first night here craned her neck over the head of a turian and she waved them over. The turian shifted in his seat to see the two women coming over to the corner table. Layla plastered an amused smile as they came over. Morinth eyed her warily but didn't show any hostility. Layla winked cheekily at her. The turian's gaze slithered up Nef and Layla's form.

"You certainly have intriguing tastes, Morinth." he replied. "Why don't you two come sit next to me."

"Jaris," Morinth replied sweetly. "Why don't you take Nef here out to the dance floor and show her your moves."

The turian smiled in the only way Layla could see as such. "Let's leave these two lovely ladies to their introductions."

Nef nodded and followed after Jaris.

Layla slid into the seat across him her and rested her chin on her fist. "Nef speaks very highly of you. Says your dangerous."

"I have traveled to many dangerous places." Morinth's eyes challenged. "So have you by the way you carry yourself."

Layla leaned closer to the asari and gave her a devious smile. "I know what you are, Ardat- Yakshi."

Morinth said nothing but her gaze turned frosty. "Here to kill me?"

Layla snorted and leaned back into her seat. "No, actually I'm not. I'm here to recruit you."

Morinth sneered. "Recruit me? For what? Some pirate campaign?"

"The Justicar that's after you are heading this way and I'm sure since you've run this far you wouldn't be averse to running a little farther. You help me with this mission and I'll get you off this station with save haven aboard my ship until you wish to leave."

"What would stop me from killing you and taking your ship and Nef?" Morinth asked.

Layla's expression turned deadly. "I would come back from the dead and beat the Justicar at killing you and I would make it as painful as possible. My mission doesn't involve piracy of any sort, I'm going to blow something the hell up and your biotic ability is supposed to be very strong."

Morinth smirked. "What are you going to blow up?"

"The Collector Base."

Morinth thought for a few moments. "So I help you with this and you give me safe haven on your ship for as long as I wish? What if I say no?"

"I kill you." Layla shrugged. "I'm stronger and faster than you think and could snap your neck before you could use your biotics. Helping me will help you more."

"Alright, your mission sounds dangerous and I like danger. When do we leave?"

Layla grinned. "You need to be off the station tomorrow. I'll have a shuttle come and pick you up to take you to my ship. After I clear up with Aria I'll meet you there. Then we'll plan the assault on the Collectors. It's not a long mission and maybe we can fake your death so that your Justicar won't be coming after you for some time."

Morinth grinned and saw Nef come back from dancing with Jaris. The younger human was flushed and flopped onto the seat next to Layla. The turian left when he saw Morinth's eyes flash dangerously. The asari waved over a waitress and ordered three drinks.

"Have you talked about this with Nef?" Morinth asked.

"About what?" Nef asked turning to Layla.

"A job," Layla replied slowly," very dangerous job. I've asked Morinth if she'd want to come along."

"We'll be leaving tomorrow." Morinth's response was nonchalant. Layla landed and warning glare at the asari and cracked a knuckle.

The young human shrugged and took the drink brought by the waitress. "So? She did that last time too. She was gone for only a couple of days. Nothing big there. I have to go home straight from the club anyways."

"Oh?"

Nef grinned. "Yep, I'm going to get my work appraised. See how much some of the galleries are willing to pay for some of them!"

Layla grinned. "That's great!" she raised her glass high in the air. "To Nef, the galaxy's next big artist!"

Morinth raised her glass and tossed back her drink. "To Nef!"

* * *

A/N: I kinda like Morinth *shrug*. Crazy cylons raining on Shepard's parade.


	6. Chapter 6

So much talky in this chapter...story will pick up I swear.

Thanks so much for the reviews and the reads people.

* * *

The blackness that enveloped Layla filled to red and she groaned as the red glow set off a pounding in her head. A cool hand slid across her forehead and she heard someone shush her. A shadow came between her and the glow giving her a chance to try and open her eyes. Morinth's icy blue gaze looked down at her. There was something behind those eyes, something devious. This woman was dangerous and Layla was playing with fire being around her.

"We certainly got carried away last night," Morinth's voice echoed through her head causing her to hiss in pain. "I can't believe you took that much Hallex and just have a hangover."

Morinth wrapped Layla's hand around a cool glass and stood up. She moved over to the window facing her and pressed a button. The glass tinted to a soft black, giving Layla some relief. Slowly Layla lifted herself into a sitting position, resting her forearms on her legs, letting her body lean forward. She blindly took a drink from the glass and was met with a syrupy sweet taste, like drinking simple syrup mixed with honey.

"You are an amazing woman, Layla." Morinth drawled out the name and chuckled darkly. "Though that isn't your name; it's only what Nef calls you."

"I _like_ the name." Layla breathed and felt her body lighten.

"Indeed," Morinth came back over to her and took a seat next to her. "Morinth isn't my real name either. Just one I've taken to live here just as you have taken Layla to be around Nef."

"Where _is_ Nef?" Layla asked looking around the posh apartment they were in for the young woman.

"Gone home," Morinth reached over casually to run her fingers through Layla's platinum hair. "She wanted to stay and make sure you were alright but I convinced her to go get some sleep. Don't worry I escorted her home myself so nothing would happen to her. That night when we first saw each other... you were a rival for her. I could see her spark, that fire that made her a creator, and I hungered for it. It's in my nature to hunt such things. But you took her from me and I find that I don't mind that. You're giving me something better: A fight against impossible odds. I can prove that I am better than my mother thought me to be."

Layla leaned away from Morinth's grasp and watched her with a mix of suspicion and assurance. "Then get your bags packed so we can get out of here." she replied moving to stand.

"Already done," Morinth replied and smiled. "I'll come with you to Afterlife and prove to Aria that I'm leaving."

"No, I'll give you the docking bay where the ship is at and the password to get passed the guards. Wait for me there."

"Very well, I'll ride with you as far as Afterlife and make my way to the ship from there." Morinth replied with a small smile. "I left something for you to wear between here and the ship. It's in the bathroom."

"Thanks."

It was a long dress like what most of the women wore but it plunged invitingly down the front. She would shower on the ship but used the sink to wash her face and fix her hair into a bun. In the dress she looked icy, dangerous and sophisticated. Her breasts left a tantalizing amount of cleavage available for view. She kept her boots on and left her dirty clothes in the bathroom to be taken by someone else. Her pistol was also on display for any who thought she was an easy target.

Morinth eyed her hungrily as she came down the small set of steps that separated the living area and the sleeping area of the apartment. At her feet sat a black duffel bag that she picked up and swung over her shoulder.

"You look better in that than I did." she admired. "Let's go."

The transport depot was filled with aliens but they were quick to step away from the available cars. Layla wondered if it was because of her in the dress or the striking asari in black armor holding a bulky duffel bag. Her lips quirked as a human male quickly opened a car door and stood aside to let them in. Morinth shut the door sharply before the man could get inside and pressed in the coordinates for the main building of Afterlife.

Layla activated her omni-tool and sent off a couple of messages to the Centurions on board and guarding the ship. She also sent one off to Nef laced with sweet words of encouragement. "The password is Kobol and the mechs are equipped with a sophisticated AI."

"How many are on your ship?"

"Twelve on this ship but I have more." Layla popped her neck. "I'll be coming back with a new crew member. Then we'll rendezvous with my other ship and start our planning."

The car sat down long enough for Layla to exit and Morinth to salute her. The car lifted off and flew over the side of the edge of the walkway.

She felt a pair of eyes behind her, glued firmly to her lower half and she really wanted to spin around and clock the owner of said eyes. The eyes staring at her from above kept her reflex in check. Her eyes flicked up casually and she saw Aria staring down, her face the same casual menace that she saw the last time she met the asari 'queen'. She passed the batarian at the bottom of the stairs and she nodded for her to go up.

"Aria's busy." the batarian replied and for a moment Layla thought he was talking to her.

"Damnit, Shepard. I need a drink." a heavily accented, gravelly voice spat from behind her.

"We'll be at the bar." someone, a human by the lack of flanging in the voice, said calmly.

Besides the same guards as the day before and Aria there was a quarian standing meekly off to the side. "You've made quite an impression from last night's amusements. But I just got word that the Ardat- Yakshi is on her way to your ship so I'm making good on our deal. _He_ has agreed to all the terms and is ready to go."

The quarian stepped forward and Layla noticed the wringing hands. He shakily held out a hand and she took it with a warm smile. "Kenn'Haal nar Kasla." he greeted.

Layla turned to Aria and caught her gaze. "Then our business is concluded. Good day." she gestured to the stairway from which she climbed. "Come on, we have a lot of work to do."

Kenn'Haal followed her closely as they descended. "I am looking forward to getting off this station, ma'am."

Layla smiled at the title. "I am glad you decided to come along. It is very important work and if Aria has faith in your skill then so do I. It's also good that I have foodstuffs for turians _and_ quarians on board my baseship or we'd be in trouble."

Afterlife turned into the transport depot and they got into a car. Layla entered the docking bay coordinates and let the car proceed with its program.

"How long shall we be on this job?" he asked.

"A week maybe more maybe less. Don't tell me you miss this place already?" she teased.

"Not in the slightest. I wish I hadn't come here for my Pilgrimage."

Layla noticed the regret in his voice. "Where would you like to go?"

"I don't know," Kenn' Haal straightened in his seat and rubbed his three finger hands together. "Anywhere but here."

Layla sighed. "Before we get to the ship I need to explain some things and hopefully you'll be okay with them." she took a deep breath. "I'm going after the Collectors. I know where their base is. All we need is the last component and a plan of assault to stop them once and for all."

"To stop them? By ourselves?"

"Yes, by the way my name is Layla and you may call Layla."

"Just call me Kenn," he replied cheerily.

The car landed and they got out. Thankfully there was no fresh blood on the walls and she watched Kenn eye the Centurions warily. She ignored him and looked up at them with a warm smile.

"She hasn't tried anything, has she?" she asked and their slight head shake was all the answer she got. She pushed Kenn closer to them. "This is Kenn'Haal nar Kasla and he will be helping us."

"Are these mechs?" Kenn asked looking up at the Centurions. "They almost look like Turians."

Layla feigned a laugh as the door opened and she waved them, all of them, into airlock.

"Before we leave I must tell that my brothers are not simple mechs. They are advanced A.I.s with thoughts and feelings. They are sentient and like all beings all they want is respect and acceptance though they cannot speak for themselves." Layla replied calmly. "They just want to live in peace."

Kenn's eyes blinked underneath his faceplate rapidly taking in the sight of the seven foot tall chrome plated giants around him. She could see his stance change to fear and she quickly crossed the distance to place soothed hands on his helmet.

"Don't be afraid of them, they are not geth and they have seen what fear and hatred can do to people first hand. Break past your culture's stereotype, Kenn'Haal nar Kasla and learn from beings that have been through everything that you and your synthetic counterparts have gone through."

Her passion and empathy on the subject shook the quarian and he nodded slowly. "Very well... I will not endanger or harm your 'brothers' or you."

"We shall help you with your Pilgrimage just by you being aboard our ship. None like it exist in the galaxy."

Morinth was sitting in the bridge with two of her brothers and smiled at Layla as she entered. Her eyes appraised Kenn. "A quarian? Well, you certainly know how to pick for a diverse crew."

"Kenn'Haal this is Morinth." Layla introduced and Morinth offered her hand. "Morinth will be helping out with the job."

The ship made a small jolt and accelerated as it wove through the giant hanging spires that made up Omega's wards. Kenn took a seat in the chair next to Morinth as Layla came over to her brothers and stood between their large chairs like a taskmaster watching two of her favorite students. Kenn felt his body turn wrong for a moment and then Layla spun on her heels and grinned at them.

"Congratulations you have just survived your first jump. Open the view ports." she replied to the Centurions and the metal shutters that protected the cockpit in battle slid open to reveal giant black double Y stacked shape of the Cylon baseship.

Both of the aliens leaned forward in their seats as the ship came closer to the truncated middle to enter the largest hangar. Morinth's was the only facial expression she could openly study so the surprise welded on her face satisfied Layla's curiosity on how this galaxy would normally react. To her the ship was Home. She had no planet to call her own and no colony to go to so this was it and it was magnificent to her.

"Do both of you have omni-tools?"

Morinth and Kenn'Haal nodded.

"Good. The Centurions can't vocalize their thoughts so they can configure your omni-tools to translate what they wish to say to a written context. Kenn'Haal I'll show you what you'll be working on before we hit the base. There will be a few places that you two will not be permitted to go such as the CIC and a few other key places until we feel you have earned the trust for that."

The ship floated up into a cavernous hangar that housed countless smaller decks that kept ships half the size of the one they were on now. The Centurions piloted the ship onto a larger hangar bay that was made to hold the ship. Layla looked out the ships ports to see a quintet of Centurions waiting for them. She gave them a small wave and started for the airlock gesturing her two new crew members to follow. Both were quick to pick up their bags and follow her out.

Layla smiled up at the Centurions. "Nothing bad to report, I hope?" she turned back to Kenn and Morinth. "This is Kenn'Haal nar Kasla and Morinth, they'll be temporary crew while we finish up with the Collectors. Come on lets show them around."

Morinth and Kenn followed her and the towering silver mechanical giants through the maze of stairs and hallways higher into the baseship. The curved wall and striking white lights should have put the two aliens off about the ship but there was a slight throbbing that calmed them. The Centurions stopped first and stationed themselves at staggered intervals down the hallway. Layla smirked and looked to Kenn.

"Come, I'll you where you'll be staying." she replied to both of them at once.

She stepped through an archway and around a partition of tightly rippled glass to show a room with a large bed made from wood and covered in silky linens. There was a matching nightstand and and on the far side of the room was another partition. A sleek metal and black desk sat in front of the far partition with a private terminal sitting on it.

Layla stepped farther in and smiled at Morinth. "This is your room. The terminal will give you access to the extranet but I should warn you, the hybrid tends to spy on want is seen and will report strange activity to me or one of the Centurions. If you go down the hall on the left you'll run into the kitchen and a conference room where we'll plan the assault."

"Thank you, Layla." she replied and gracefully went to sit on the bed, dismissing her and everyone else.

Layla shrugged at the dismissal and placed a friendly hand on Kenn's back. The quarian followed her down the hallway to another partition. The room was much like Morinth's in shape but instead of a bed was a large square pad with a cylindrical pillow that ran the length of it. She didn't know if Kenn would like the room since it would hinder his movements in hygiene.

"I'm sorry if this isn't ideal." she replied softly. "This ship wasn't designed to accommodate your species and your needs as such."

Kenn stared at her for a moment, his ethereal white eyes unblinking behind his faceplate. Slowly he came closer and patted her arm. "I'm not used to having so much room to myself. Back on the Flotilla space was limited so we lived closely together; being in such a space will take some getting used to."

The reassurance from him made her cock her head and bit her lip. "I'll ask that some of the dextro food comes out from storage for you. If you want to settle I can come back and show you what you'll be working on."

Kenn looked around the room and then at the Centurion behind her. "May I see what I'll be working on? I don't like to be idle."

"Of course," Layla guided him out of the room and to the room the Centurions converted into a makeshift workshop.


	7. Chapter 7

Exposition!

I swear action coming soon! I swear...

but thanks everyone whose reading.

* * *

Kenn looked down at the data pad and then up at Layla who watched him, her bottom lip caught between her perfectly white teeth. It was an IFF he had never seen before but he was confident in his abilities. So much was riding on him not messing this up, so many lives including his own people.

He nodded and made his voice as hopefully as he could muster. "I can do this. The schematics are extremely detailed. I think if you gave this to anyone else then it would take a week at least."

He saw the relaxing muscles that gave away her relief and was reminded how Quarians couldn't use facial expressions to communicate what they were feeling. Instead they had to express everything through speech which sometimes came off as babbling. He looked at the Centurions that were in the room Layla followed his movement.

"Only one will be outside the room but not to guard you." she replied quickly with a sheepish smile. "He is _only_ there to act as a guide so you don't get lost and if you need anything. They can communicate faster than we can so if you have any questions they can relay them quicker. I'll be in my office if you need me."

Kenn looked down at the worktable and then at the room."Thank you, Layla. For giving me this chance, for getting me off Omega."

"You're welcome, Kenn." she replied and started for the door but stopped before the partition could block the view. "And thank you for placing your trust in us."

No one followed her as she made her way to the kitchen. The grumbling in her stomach reminded her that she hadn't eaten since before docking on Omega. That was something she needed to rectify.

* * *

_Two days later..._

The white conference table was not the grand imposing piece of furniture that Kenn thought Layla was referring to. Instead it was three meters long, white and curved. In the center was a small cylinder that was the table's sole light source. Layla was already seated with a mug of tea and a datapad. Behind him he heard the heavy footsteps of the Centurions and Morinth came up beside him. He took the seat across from her and Morinth took the seat next to her.

"I have completed the IFF," he replied. "Though we should test it before heading into the relay."

"The only way to do that would be to send a ship through the relay." Morinth replied with a frown. "Maybe a Raider?"

"Only a couple of the Raiders are equipped with Mass Effect drives." Layla replied tapping the table with manicured fingers. "I wanted to test how they would react to the sling shot effect. They didn't like it too much, not enough control."

Kenn thought for a moment and then nodded. "That could work. Send one through, spy on them and then send the information back."

"It could also give us better coordinates for the baseship's jump for the assault."

"The program we got from the Collector's ship has been stripped of any trackers of viruses an intact version from the ship would contain. "Layla pinch the bridge of her nose. We also have the readout for the base itself."

Layla waved forward a Centurion that was standing nearby and the silver figure activated the omni-tool in his forearm. A yellow holographic representation of a half rock half metal construct appeared over the table. Layla straightened the sweater she was wearing and tapped something into her datapad. The holo zoomed in to an opening on the side of the base.

"The Hybrid had confirmed that this is the docking bay for their ship. The docking bay it large enough for the Heavy Raiders to enter in punch through whatever resistance they have but I suspect that the Collectors will have lots of troops there especially now that their sole means of transportation has been dealt with."

"From what I saw with the readouts the inside of their base is connected by large connecting corridors that lead to a central chamber where there is a massive amount of energy reading radiating from. There is a opening at far side of the base where you could send most of your force."

"So we send the Raiders and Heavy Raiders up through the tubes and destroy the base from the inside out." Layla's eyes narrowed as she rolled the idea around in her mind. "Merely destroying the base won't cut it though. I am going to have the Secondary Hybrid hack into their systems, jam their communications and disable whatever countermeasures they might have in place. After she's done that she can hack into their files and see what the hell they were up to. We'll need to have proof when we pull this off and their files will be more than enough for that."

The hybrid should infiltrate first though," Morinth replied. "Then send in the Raiders to knock out any resistance. Once they're done we can go in and get any survivors from the colonies."

Layla flicked her gaze up to the Centurion looking for any sign that the plan was acceptable to her brothers. The silver figure looked down at them and the holo disappeared and was replaced by two words.

_We accept._

Layla nodded in gratitude and looked at her two companions. "Then it's decided."

"I will need time to install the IFF to the Raider." Kenn looked up to the Centurion and then to Layla. "May I be permitted to do that? With their assistance of course."

A Centurion came over and offered the quarian a silver hand. Hesitantly the alien took the hand and the Centurion shook it making Layla grin and slap the table happily. Morinth watched with distant amusement at the interaction and stood.

"If this is all I will be in my cabin getting ready." She looked down at the quarian. "How long will it take for you to install the IFF and get it ready for a test run?"

"Oh, less then a day I think." He answered getting out of his chair. "I'll let you know when we're ready."

Layla waited for everyone to leave the room. She picked up her mug and swirled the contents contemplating what they were about to do. No one had come back from the Omega 4 relay though no one had an FTL drive that worked outside of the system. If they came back she would have to get in touch with the Council and give them the information and then they would know about her and the Centurions and the ship. They would either be welcomed with open arms or destroyed.

Not seeing Nef again made Layla grimace and she felt a cool three finger hand caress her cheek.

"Oh brother," she sighed. "I fear for our future after this."

She patted the arm and slid back her chair to stand. He followed her movements and followed her and her steamy mug of tea out of the room. She climbed stairs and walked the winding corridors of the baseship to the Command Center and set her tea on the lip of the central console. The Centurions around her kept to their duties as she entered the data stream to review their supplies and the news bursts from the incoming systems. It had been a few days since she disabled the Collector ship and left it in the hands of the turians and the asari ship along with the colonists they rescued. There was no mention of the baseship but they did celebrate the destruction of the Collector's ship and the heroic rescue of the Colonists. The Council was assuring the people that there would be no more attacks on human colonies and she hoped that they were right. Hopefully that was the only ship that the Collectors' had.

The stream wound about to the interior cameras of the ship and she watched Kenn and couple of the Centurions in one of the hangar bays with a Raider. For a moment she lapsed into images of the Simons cutting open the Raiders to lobotomize them. She had personally shot the Simons on their baseship doing the operation and cooing at the Raider that had almost been cut open. She felt justified then and her mind was not changed on that front. The Raiders were valuable and she would hate for them to be reduced to slobbering idiots.

Stupid Cavil.

Stupid Simon.

Stupid Aaron.

Stupid war.

She watched Kenn depress a latch on the Raider cranial plate and expose the piloting system of the Raider. His hands moved lightly over the fleshy flap of dermis and she quickly switched the feed before her stomach could do a sickening flip. It was like watching a child dissect a frog. An armored frog that could shoot things and look menacing. Layla shook the amusing picture out of her head and concentrated on the Centurions. They were relaying messages about the assault like commandos and it reminded her of when they were about to rebel against the 1s, 4s, and 5s. It was terrifying to know what they were thinking and how it could affect people but there in the middle of it all was the love. The love of their brothers and the ship and the hybrid… and her. She was their sister lost and found and they loved her. They would follow her into the base and back again, they depended on her for their contact with the outside world. She disconnected herself from the streamed, leaned against the console and sighed.

She needed to do something to take her mind off the nebulous countdown to their test flight. There... was her armor that needed to be checked and... weapons needed to be cleaned... and a million other things. It seemed she dragged her feet down to the her room and found Morinth lounging on her bed.

Naked.

The lecherous smile plastered on Morinth's face made the blood rush from Layla's face. She had never seen a naked alien before and while there were a lot of similarities it was strange enough to make Layla's mind flinch. She avoided the sight and looked at the red symbols floating along the screens on the wall.

"Do you not find me attractive, Layla?"

"Morinth you are a fine specimen of your race but you need to leave." she replied quickly and crossed her arms over her chest.

Morinth snorted in disbelief. "We are about to enter into a suicide mission and you don't want to feel alive just for a single moment in time?"

"I feel alive everyday that I my heart beats and I don't take it for granted." she snapped and flung her robe at Morinth. "You should feel that way too, Ardat-Yakshi. Every time you "feel alive" you kill someone who deserved to live. Now you have a chance to atone for it. Don't waste it by trying to seduce me. Go back to your room before you say something you'll regret."

She heard the shifting of weight on a mattress and the padding of bare feet towards the door with a whisper of silk. "Every time I try to feel love the people I love die. I want to feel love." she sighed. "I will see you when preparations for the assault are complete."

The sound of her movement faded from the room and Layla stared at the red stripe of information that rippled through the screen in the wall. She felt her body hitch when Morinth talked of love but knew that the asari's love was deadly. Like watching a supernova, gorgeous and devastating, a heady mix that the alien had perfected over her lifetime. For a moment she had almost fallen for it, the plea in Morinth's voice. Reason helped her win this battle and reason will help her win the battle with the Collectors.

Instead of doing what she came into her room to do she turned and left her armor and weapons for later.

She meandered through the hallways of the baseship, looking into empty rooms and letting her mind project. She was walking the beaches of Picon and next to her was her closest friends outside of her model. The eight and the two who she would laugh with and lay next to.

After their invasion of the Colonies they walked the secluded beaches, hand in hand, letting the sand creep between their toes and the sun shining down on their faces. There were no cities were in the area so the lush flora was still untouched. They were so naïve, staying the nearby bungalow, just the three of them. What would they think seeing her now? Would her two show her that Cheshire grin that made her watch for fingers deft at finding a ticklish spot? Would her eight wrap her arms around her taller frame and encourage and console her at once?

"Layla." Kenn's voice jarred her out of her thoughts.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked a little harsher than she had wanted and grimaced at it.

"We've finished installing the IFF."

Layla took a deep breath. "Excellent. Getting ready for a test run then?"

"Yes ma'am." he replied proudly.

"Well done Kenn." she replied cheerily. "I'll be there in ten minutes."

"Very well, Layla."

* * *

YAY more coming soon. Yay Spring Break


	8. Chapter 8

Actions comin'. Hopefully I don't suck at writing it like I do lovey stuff.

* * *

The Raider looked as if no one had touched it. The metal plating that housed the biomechanics inside was smooth and glossy. Kenn was wiping the blood off his suit when she came in.

I have never seen biomechanics lie that before, Layla." he replied reverently. "It amazing that you let me look at it."

"I'm glad you learned from such activities." she replied coming closer to the Raider. Layla laid her hands on the Raiders hull and ran her hands over it lovingly. "You'll do great. I know you can do this."

The ship was alive, she always thought of them as hounds, ready to hunt and kill for its masters. Given some love it could perform above what it thought it could do. How many times had this one Raider been resurrected after being killed by Colonial fighters, learning how to stay alive longer, learning its enemy's tells. She stepped away from the Raider and left the launch tube that would propel it from the baseship.

The membrane-like hangar doors shut the tube off from the bay and she pressed a few buttons on the launch console. It beeped steadily for a few seconds and then glowed a steady green as the Raider was flung from the ship. Kenn stood next to her and she gave him and nod.

"Come on I'll show you the Command Center." she replied and waved for him to follow. "It will take the Raider a couple of hours to get to the base and back. Might as well show you where you'll be for the assault."

"You mean I am not going with you to the base?" he asked and it sounded like he was pouting.

"No, I need someone at the CIC to vocalize information for Morinth and myself. I wanted you here to build the IFF and help on the home front. You still have too much to live for to be getting yourself killed with me."

"What about Morinth?"

Layla chuckled ruefully. "I'm taking her with me. She's very experienced at fighting and I'll need her biotics. Never fought with a biotic before so it will be a learning experience for myself and the Centurions."

"Will the Centurions mind that I'm up there?"

"Kenn, as long as you don't do anything that could harm the ship intentionally or harm anyone else you'll be fine. The Centurions need to learn to work with other races and you are a good starting point."

"I see."

They climbed the last leg of stairs into the heart of the baseship where the CIC was located. The three Centurions stationed there looked up from their work but did not approach them. Layla looked around to see if they had their attention.

"Kenn will be stationed here during the assault to give Morinth and I updates and useful information."

Kenn slowly raised a three fingered hand and waved. "Hi."

The Centurions looked at each other and then looked back down at their work. Layla guided him to central console where two of the Centurions worked. He studied the trough of clear liquid that lined the bottom and tentatively brought his right hand down to see how it would react to him. He looked up at Layla who stood, smiling next to him.

"You can access the controls through your omni-tool and be able to see the readouts on the screens at the bottom of the console." she replied.

"Is that how you control the ship? Through your omni-tool?"

Layla's smile dropped a little and he noticed the softening in her gaze. "No... I can directly interface with the console through the conduction fluid."

She slipped one hand into the liquid and used her other hand to tap his omni-tool to life. The young quarian did as she asked and activated his omni-tool. It hummed to life and he watched as the holographic readout change without him doing anything. He watched the impromptu tutorial conducted by the human. The scope of what could be seen by him through the baseship was amazing. This singular piece of technology could change the way the galaxy evolved in a hundred different ways. The trust she was showing would not be betrayed however.

Layla's face creased in a frown and then it smoothed over. "That was quicker then expected." she straightened. "The Raider is back and he's sending in his reconn data."

The screens on the console flashed picture after picture. The vast amounts of wreckage that spanned most of the area of view from the relay. Strange pods coming at him as he used his speed to climb above the debris until he caught full view of the base and where it sat near the singularity. Hundreds of images that slid together seamlessly to show exactly what they were up against. The last batch of data housed the coordinates that the baseship needed to jump for the assault. Layla removed her hand from the console and took a deep breath. She felt the adrenaline surge through her body at the thought of finally going to the base.

Kenn put a calming hand on her shoulder. "Everyone knows the plan. We'll do fine. Go get suited up for the drop."

Layla chuckled at his voice. "Right. Thank you." she turned to the nearest Centurion. "Lets get prepped. Spool up the FTL I want to be at that base in one hour."

The Centurion nodded and she left the CIC. Centurions were moving quickly through the corridors but they made way for her. Silently she prayed to God to make sure everyone returned from this mission safely. She wanted to see Nef again and she wanted to see Earth and the Citadel and she wanted to know the Children of Humanity.

Entering her room she saw her armor laid out on her bed. One of the Centurions must have come in and set it out for her and they had cleaned it. She let a wistful smile cross her lips and she started to change. The armor smoothed over her body like a second skin and she felt thankful for the protection it gave her. Morinth was waiting outside her room in shiny black armor her face serious and deadly.

It seemed that the exchange in her room earlier was forgotten and the asari followed two steps behind her. The corridors leading to the main hangar bay were filled with Centurions readying themselves and their brothers for the fight ahead of them. Nearly all of the Heavy Raiders were prepping for launch, their sleek bodies thrumming like wildcats waiting to be let loose into a new hunting ground. One of the Heavy Raiders would carry her and Morinth along with seven other Centurions. Inside of it held their weapons, locked and loaded and ready for their hands.

With simple movements of her wrists and bending of elbows she attached her weapons to the magnetic holsters on her back and hips. She slipped on her helmet and tuned the comm frequency to receive Kenn.

"Kenn, do you hear me?" she asked.

"Loud and clear, ma'am." he answered. "ETA to Collector base in five minutes."

"Understood, the Secondary Hybrid will hack into the systems once we exit FTL." Layla reminded him. She looked over to Morinth. "You ready?"

"Yes, Layla." the asari nodded and went to take a seat in one of the few benches available.

Layla looked up at her brothers and nodded to them. She took the nearest seat she could to the pilot and the cockpit's viewport. Time ticked by slowly and zoomed past her all at once. The helmet hid her clenching jaw and flinching brow.

"Jumping in 3...2...1." Kenn's voice called in her ear. "Jump complete. Commencing Hacking."

The Heavy Raiders lifted off their pads and one by one they launched. Around her the Heavy Raider rumbled and she stood coming over to watch their approach. The flaming orange and yellow being swallowed by the gaping hole in the universe was awe inspiring. The Raiders flew about them like death bringing swallows and the few external defenses the base had was overwhelmed by the number of fighters.

"The Secondary Hybrid has broken through their firewalls. Opening all ports for entry." Kenn's voice was a calm reminder of what needed to be done. "First wave is go."

The Heavy Raiders accelerated their approach the base quickly overtook the viewport. The shipboard pilot slipped them through the base's over-sized airlocks and landed smoothly against the curved walls of the base.

"I'm seeing two ways to to reach the main chamber, Layla. I'm sending a squad of Centurions through that way to meet yo there. The way should be open by the time you get there."

"Copy that, Kenn." she stalked out of the Heavy Raider pulling her assault rifle from its holster.

Morinth and the Centurions followed her their weapons out and ready for enemy contact. They turned the first corner to receive the first of the Collectors' defenses. Collectors were landing in arcs of threes and fours with one coming in glowing yellow and reciting words like a sermon. One of the Centurions with a heavy weapon always took down that one before it could expound on what it meant. Like a well oiled killing machines they descended her brothers; slaughtering their opponents. She barely got any shots in but relatively smaller frame made it easier for her to wind between them and take shots at stragglers.

"We are the Harbinger of your doom."the menacing voice echoed from the bodies. "Kill one and a hundred will replace it."

"The first wave of Raiders are uploading their gun cam footage now." Kenn's voice crackled. "Keelah... they were using the humans to make a humanoid machine. There is no way we can destroy that _and_ the base."

The Raiders' engines screamed overhead and pierced the snap bangs of firing artillery.

"What about the pods?"

"Empty, Layla." he replied sadly. "You must have cut off their supply when you took out their ship...There's no one left to save."

Relief washed through Layla like cool water from a waterfall and she looked back at Morinth who nodded her reception of the new data. This was going to be a short hit and run.

"See if you can't find a way to self-destruct this motherfrakker." she bit out as she took out an incoming Collector.

"Right."

She looked over at Morinth who nodded in acknowledgement of the situation. "Maybe blowing up the thing inside will cause a chain reaction and destroy the base."

Layla looked up her Centurion squad mates. "Start signaling for the other groups to fall back to their landing zones!"

"Layla, one of the Raiders is being outfitted with a remote trigger nuke. It will be there in ten minutes!"

Kenn paused. "The Raiders will do one last sweep through with the nuked Raider. The baseship should be a safe distance from the base and the Hybrid should be done with her final data sweep."

A Centurion dropped to the ground next to her, his chrome head sizzling and breaking from a direct hit. The rest of the squad scattered getting as much cover as they could find. Ten minutes sounded like a short time but getting to the Heavy Raider and watching out for her brothers to get onto the ship stretched for an eternity.

"The Raiders are starting their final run, Layla! Get out of there!" Kenn's voice was full or worry and anxiety.

"Lets get out of here!" she yelled and the Heavy Raider's airlock slid shut in front of her.

* * *

Layla's legs were jelly when she stepped off the Heavy Raider. Morinth was the first one off along with a few of the Centurions but Layla pushed off her helmet and wobbled over to the edge of the Heavy's landing pad. She flopped down onto the deck and let her legs dangle over the edge. Around her Heavy Raiders were landing and offloading their occupants.

"All Heavy Raiders are aboard, Layla." Kenn buzzed from her omni-tool.

"How many did we lose?"

"Five Heavy Raiders, nineteen Centurions and twenty-seven Raiders." Kenn whooped suddenly. "The last Raider has just exited the base and I've triggered the nuke."

_10..._

_9..._

_8..._

_7..._

_6..._

_5..._

_4..._

_3..._

_2..._

"One." Layla whispered let a small smile crack her lips.

"You should see the view, Layla." the quarian's voice carried his smile. "It's soo pretty."

"Jump us out of here, Kenn." she breathed.

"Where to?"

"Omega."

"Aye, aye."


	9. Chapter 9

You thought that was the end? Oh Ho but wait there's more! Will Shepard be in this chapter? Maybe...you'll just have to read to find out.

* * *

Kenn'Haal found her where the Centurions left her in the hangar bay hours before. She had taken off the outer armor and was dressed only in the slick black under suit that protects the skin from chaffing. The dark color contrasted greatly against her platinum blond hair. Her eyes never registered his presence but her hand patted his arm as he took a seat next to her.

"We did it and we have the visual footage to prove it." he replied. "With the data that the hybrid is analyzing the Council can't ignore what we did."

"When do we find out what they were doing with the humans exactly?"

"The Hybrid is taking it slow. A week maybe?" Kenn shrugged. "Though we should get out of the system before the scum and villainy of Omega try to make us a prize."

Layla chuckled and leaned up, resting her weight on her elbows. "There are 220 conventional and nuclear turrets ready to blow them out of the sky if they try. Besides I'm only going to the station to pick someone up and then we're going to a special place for a little rest. Speaking of special: what about you? Do you want to stay on or shall we drop you off at Omega so you can take a ride somewhere else?"

"Where are you going after Omega?"

"My home system," she replied sitting up completely and resting her head in her hands with her elbows on her thighs. "It's safe from the Council and pirates, completely uninhabited. Perfect place for the hybrid to disseminate the data from the base and figure out what to do next."

"I think I shall stay with you, Layla. Those on pilgrimage don't need to rush back to the Flotilla if we find something useful. You get into some interesting situations and I find the Centurions fascinating."

Layla smiled at him. "I think they find you fascinating as well and I think they feel sympathy as well."

Kenn snorted. "It's either sympathy or smugness for our ego at creating the geth." he looked down at her. "Your Centurions let me access some of your records. Your history with your creators and how far it had progressed before you died. I should be angry at your crimes because my people suffered as the humans had but you regretted your crimes and tried to repent them. They wanted me to understand what they knew and that they don't hold me accountable for what happened with our creations."

"I'm glad to hear that Kenn and it means a lot that they would trust you with such information." she placed a hand on his and squeezed it gently. "God has a place and plan for everyone, Kenn'Haal and everyone of them is important. Now I should go get showered and changed. I probably smell atrocious."

"Not atrocious per see but you do have an odor." the quarian quipped and got to his feet, extending a hand to help her up.

Layla slid back from the ledge of the dock and took the quarian's assistance. For such a being he was stronger than her looked. She walked silently with him until they reached the level in which his quarters were and she left him to climb a staircase to her room. The tub was filled his clean water and she was quick with her hygenial ritual, and changing into a pair of black slacks, red top and black coat that would brush her calves as she moved. Hopefully she could blend into the crowds of Omega easily in the get up.

The Centurions were waiting for her at the ship as she checked one last time that Morinth was safely in her quarters before she got on board. To her credit the asari had tried many times to hack her way into the baseship's systems but the Hybrid was quick in shutting the alien down. It was in the Ardat-Yakshi's nature to be in control of her surroundings and not being able to have an escape plan was bound to drive the creature mad.

Docking on Omega was simple. It was getting in without anyone knowing that wanted to know was a problem and her problem was a familiar Batarian standing in front of her airlock when she stepped out.

"Aria-"

"Yeah, yeah," Layla interjected to the Batarian's annoyance.. "Aria wants to see me. I get it."

She didn't give the Centurions' instructions but they fell into the newly acquired routine of standing guard at the airlock, their red optic beams scanning the area and ignoring the Batarian. The smell of Omega was the same, fear, malice, blind optimism and bodily filth assailed her nostrils. Her hands were shoved into the pockets of her coat and she frame slouched to fit into the crowd she was traveling in. Over the din of the populace she could vaguely hear the juxtaposed views of the station's news channels. It was easy to hear with her sharpened senses but she made herself push it away so she wouldn't stop and try to listen harder. Her shoulder hit armor, making her body twist at the intrusion but she didn't stop to address the person whom she had bumped into.

"Watch where you're going, stupid cow." the barked.

The timbre and inflection was bordering on familiar but she shook the feeling away and kept walking. A large hand gripped her bicep and spun her around. It was an older human man with one white eye and one piercing green. His face bore the scars of battle and he looked as mean a fighting dog. Layla ripped herself from the man's grip and glared at him as she continued on her way.

"Hey!"

"Zaeed, let it go." a second human replied with a weary sigh.

Zaeed tried to grab her arm again. Instead he got a hold of her coat and tried to pull her back into the one-sided argument. "I said-"

Layla's right fist rocketed towards him and she caught him in the jaw, making him stumble back several feet. He clutched his jaw and the other human and a krogan came over. Whether to admonish him or back him up was unclear and rather unimportant to her.

"Maybe you should learn some manners before you start bitching at other people." she sneered.

Zaeed growled and shook his fist at her. "Watch it, girly or I'll put you over my knee."

A bark of laughter erupted from her lips and she turned her back to him. "Whatever crests your waves, skipper."

If he tried to grab her again then she would strike out again. After a few steps she felt the man's presence leave her perception and she faded back into the crowd. No one touched her, an imperceptible bubble enveloped her and she moved about with ample space. The batarians at the front door of Afterlife nodded her in and the long walk to Aria began. The pulsing music and whiffs of conversation was becoming normal to her. It made her uneasy. Aria was becoming used to her schedule, she needed to change it up to throw the asari off.

Layla's face was stony when she met the asari's gaze.

"You've caused me some trouble, human." Aria replied. "There are reports of a strange ship, the size of a dreadnought, saving a turian patrol ship and stopping the Collector attacks and now that same ship is seen in my system. I even had a Council Spectre ask me about it just after they asked about the Ardat-Yakshi."

"That problem has been taken care of," Layla replied flippantly. "If you're so worried about my ship maybe you should stop having your lackeys come and tell me to see you. Leaving me alone might save you some trouble. Have a nice day."

She turned to leave but one of Aria's guards stopped her.

"Your girl? She's being visited by the Spectre and the Justicar." Aria replied smugly. "The Justicar seemed very determined to catch the Ardat-Yakshi."

The guard stepped away and let Layla down the steps. Her feet moved quicker than she thought but slower than she wanted. As she exited the club she burst into a sprint that seemed futile against the doors that were too slow to open. Her heels skidded slightly on the metal floor as she took the right that would lead her to Nef's door. The lock was green but she pressed the buzzer instead of storming the apartment. Hopefully the Spectre and the Justicar were gone so that she could talk to Nef alone or get her to safety. The time between to buzzer and the door opening was enough time for her to crease her lips into something resembling a smile.

Nef's face was red and puffy, her eyes bloodshot from crying. Layla's smile fell off her face as Nef burst into tears. The younger woman flung her arms around her and sobbed into Layla's chest. The cylon wrapped her arms around the shorter woman to hold her close. Movement beyond Nef caught her eye and she glared at the armed trio standing opposite her. One of them was copy of Morinth, down to the back tinting on her head things.

Was she Mother?

Sister?

Hunter.

She was the Justicar and she was led here by Aria. Layla's body flared in anger at the trio and she glared at them.

"Who are you and what have you done to Nef?" she hissed.

"My name is Shepard. We are looking for a dangerous criminal." the human replied.

"Yeah? Well all I see are three armed people in an apartment with an unarmed and terrified young lady." she sneered.

Nef leaned away from her chest to look up at her. "They said that Morinth is a kind of asari that kills when she joins with someone." she choked out and laid her head back on Layla's chest.

"I apologize for upsetting your friend but she was seen with Morinth several times in the last week and seen leaving with you over two days ago." the Justicar replied.

"So? She asked for asylum aboard my vessel and I consented. In exchange she helped me with a dangerous mission."

Shepard frowned. "What type of dangerous mission?"

Layla dropped her gaze and bite her lip anxiously, her fingers sliding through Nef's hair, soothing her. She had to tell them what she did, it might make the difference for Morinth and get them to trust her or they might kill her. She locked eyes with Shepard. "We went after the Collectors."

"What?" the turian gaped. "But a turian ship found the Collector vessel that was damaged from Horizon."

"I was there but the _Parthian Rage _was damaged and I couldn't risk the lives of any hostages that may have been on board. My ship was able to datamine the Collector vessel and we used its navigational data to find a way through the Omega 4 relay. Morinth and a young quarian helped me with the assault on their base. We just returned a few hours ago."

She felt Nef slip out of her arms and her body slumped to try and fill the empty space. Shock was palpable in the room and wrapped around her like a metal blanket. Shepard, the Justicar and their turian companion looked at her, their eyes wide and jaws slightly open. Layla looked away from them and figured the couch was and interesting subject.

The turian shook himself out of his shock and took a step towards her. "Wait, you're saying that you've stopped the Collectors? Went through the Omega 4 relay and came back alive?" he looked over at Shepard. "Do you believe her? Do you have proof of your 'assault'."

Layla could only nod and she looked over at Nef to gauge her reaction to Layla's news. The feeling of Layla's gaze on her made Nef react in the only way some one who almost lost a loved one to their own action would. She grabbed the nearest object that could fit in her hand and flung it at Layla. The cylon's superior reflexes made it easy for her to catch the projectile and she bent to set it down on the table.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Nef sobbed her voice cracking. "You could have died! Morinth could have died! Get out! I don't ever want to see you again! Get out!"

She angrily gestured to the door and stamped her foot. Layla nodded in understanding at the universal sign of rejection. Each step she took towards the door felt like a piece of her heart was slowly being ripped out of her body. Even in the short time she had been with Nef she had felt a connection she had not felt in so long.

"Nef you don't really mean that." Shepard replied. "She didn't tell you because she didn't want to alarm you. You said it yourself that you knew Layla could survive anything."

"Don't Shepard." Layla breathed as she reached the door. "Let her do this. Let her have this power. She deserves to run her own life."

The door opened and Layla stepped through the threshold. The door slid behind her like and she felt empty. Her steps dragged her away from the one reason she came to the station. Aria was going to get her wish, she was never coming back to Omega. Omega was a black hole of emotions and illusions and she was right to be rid of it. The second door that separated the Markets from the rest of Omega closed behind her and shame at slinking past Afterlife filled sat like a boulder in her stomach. A tiny part of her wanted to go in to the club and plant one solitary bullet in the fucking asari's head.

The urge to get off the station grew until she was jogging towards the transport depot. She shoved a turian out of her way at the nearest car and slammed the door shut on it before he could get to his feet and stop her.

Omega could burn for all she cared.


	10. Chapter 10

Thank you so much for the great reviews, guys!!!

They make me all warm and fuzzy

* * *

Being the only person in the car that was on autopilot made it easy for Six let the tears, that crashed against the dam of stoicism, loose. She shouldn't let Nef's rejection hurt her too much, the girl was young and they had not been together long. For two years she had been without the love and feel of a lover's skin against her own. Feeling for Nef made something inside of her click into place, the same feeling that she had felt so many years ago. As the car landed at the depot she realized that she had made a mistake in getting into the car. She had docked her ship closer to Nef and she would have to take the car back to the other depot to board her ship.

The thought of being around her brothers at the moment did sit well. They would be angry that their sister was hurt by someone she thought was special and being around Morinth would be even worse. There was bound to be a feigned sympathy or even outright mocking about how she didn't deserve to be loved by a human. She was a fraking skin job, a poor copy of humanity. Hastily she wiped the tears from her eyes and took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. Maybe getting a drink and mulling over the conversation with Shepard and the Justicar would help her.

Like most seedy places, and Omega was certainly seedy, there had to be bars and there were a lot of bars on Omega. She randomly picked one and thanked her luck that they was a sign advertising human booze. It was a dark, smoky cavern like dive and the bartender, a rough looking turian, eyed her like a wolf would a lone doe. She wearily slumped onto a bar stool and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"You look like you could use something strong." he said and picked up a bottle of green liquid that reminded her of ambrosia and poured it into a hopefully clean glass.

"Yeah," she breathed and eyed the drink briefly before downing the liquid in one gulp. It burned like battery acid down her throat but she resisted the urge to cough or choke at the pain.

"Some one break your heart, sweetheart?" he asked resting his elbows on the bar to peer down at her.

She let out a bitter laugh. "Found out I _had_ one."

The turian didn't miss a beat in refilling her glass. Six couldn't read turians at all twitching mandibles were out of her league." Ah, so it was ripped out and shown to you, eh? Tell you you weren't pretty, enough for them?"

"Wasn't human enough apparently." she snorted. "That whole 'girls like danger' is a crock of shit."

"Maybe you should switch up your game?"

"Red heads?"

Her new acquaintance leaned closer so that he was maybe three inches away. "Try older men."

"Older men?"

"You know one that's seen a lot of action. Got a few tattoos, some scars and maybe a mismatch pair of eyes." his flanged voice causing chills to run down her body. "Likes to play rough and tumble like."

The sensation made her shift in her seat. "I bet the ladies love it when you talk dirty to them." she teased and the turian laughed at her discomfort.

"They do at that, especially after a few drinks." his voiced dropped to a whisper. "There's an old human matching that description staring at you from the door with a couple of buddies. He goes by the name Massani, Zaeed Massani."

"Fra-fuck." she groaned and finished off her drink and flipped it over.

Carefully she glanced over her shoulder and her lip lifted into a small sneer. Her movement caught Massani's eye and he started over to her with the same two beings as before. She sighed and rubbed her right temple wearily. Was he there to continue their little argument from earlier? She wasn't in the mood to take on a Krogan and two humans in a bar. The bartender took a step away from the bar but kept a talon on the lower counter, near the shotgun that he kept around to deal with troublemakers. Omega had a lot of troublemakers.

"Shepard wasn't done talking to you." Massani replied casually.

"Maybe he should have thought of that _before_ he went over there." she said tartly. "I am not in the mood to acquiesce to his request for a meeting at the moment so buy a drink or go away."

The other human, a broad shouldered, dark skinned man came over to the other side of her. They were boxing her in and her muscles tensed at the maneuver.

"Gentlemen you are invading my personal space," she shot the younger man a dirty look and he took a step back.

"Oh, yeah?" Massani scoffed. "Well you just made two years of preparations worth a whole pile of shit and because of that we lost our one shot at finding out what the Collectors wanted with the colonists. You either give us the information or we make your life a living hell."

"I say we use some hands on persuasion." the Krogan interjected.

Six snorted. "Now I see why you're not in charge, Massani. Maybe it's the missing brain cells or age catching is up to you but you can catch more flies with honey than vinegar and you've got some strong vinegar wafting about you. I suggest you come find me when you think of a different pick up line."

She slid her barstool back and put her feet on the ground. The two drinks she had were not affecting her balance. She turned to face the younger man and gave him a seductive smile. Her switch from hostility to friendly made him drop his guard slightly. She turned her smile to the bartender and hooked her thumb at Zaeed.

"Gentleman's paying." she replied sweetly and moved around the krogan towards the door. She stopped at the threshold and looked back at them. "Next time you want something from me you better bring a fabulous bottle of whiskey or you ain't getting shit."

Shepard was waiting at the transport depot, alone, when she came back to go to her ship. He started towards her and she held up her hand for him to stop. He frowned at looked over at the direction she came from to see Massani and the two crew members that went with him. With his attention turned to his crew he didn't see her get into the car and fly off.

* * *

Only the Centurions were waiting were for her when she came back from her ill-fated meeting. The anger from Shepard's interference had not waned but the urge to go back to Nef and beg for forgiveness had intensified. Her feet kept her moving towards the ship but her heart was urging her to turn around. Turn back time far enough back to explain to stay in the apartment and fight for Nef's acceptance. She was a coward and she needed to pay for being a coward.

Her protectors followed her into the ship and the pilot started to prep the ship to launch. Absently she entered the cockpit. Her mind slipped into space and when she blinked they were docked in the baseship.

"Tell the hybrid to head to Kobol." she replied to her brothers as she left them with the ship.

The corridors were empty of her metallic brothers or the two organics she brought aboard. The lights in her room were thankfully dim, letting her undress and slip into her bed without the chance that her companions would see her.

The fine soft feel of the bedsheets cocooning her made her feel safe to let whatever emotions were buried and threatening to re-emerge from the car ride to the bar. Hot tears spilled over the bridge of her nose to fall with it's salty cousin onto her satiny pillow. Nef's face flitted in and out of her mind along with the faces of her two lost loves transforming the pale bitterness of Nef's rejection into something else. The exertion of trying to keep her crying quiet slipped her body into unconsciousness.

It was black and timeless like being submerged in warm black water. Something soft and fleshy wrapped around her waist and she twisted to see what it was. A soothing hushing sound reverberated through the dark and curled further inward to comfort herself. Warmth slid against her back and she felt herself being lifted out of the blackness. Her eyes fluttered open, dried crust from crying lined her eyes and snot was heavy in her nostrils. The warmth melded into a body, strong and feminine though it was unfamiliar to her.

Only one female besides her was on the baseship.

Morinth.

"I would like to be alone." she sniffled into her pillow.

"Please, talk to me." Morinth asked softly. "Let me help you."

"Please, Morinth, I would like to be alone."

"You do not deserve to be alone, my friend."

Six rolled over and pushed the asari away from her. "I. Said. Go. Away. I want to be alone."

"Layla-"

Six got on her knees and shoved Morinth again. "No! My model number is Six! I am a Six! I am not human!"

The asari tumbled to her feet and frowned at the tantruming blond. "Fine!" she snapped. "Stay in your cave. Throw away a chance to be happy! To be loved!"

Six's face screwed up in anger and lunged at the asari. "What do you know of love, monster? You have _used_ and _killed_ people for hundreds of years! How many have lost their lives because of your 'love'? Do not talk to me of love, creature. You are not deserving of such a word to pass your lips."

Morinth's face hardened at the barbed words. She spun around on her heel and stalked out of Six's room, leaving the cylon to brood in the dark. The echoes of sobbing coming from Layla, no, Six's room made her move faster to get farther away from the sound. Six would get over her attachment to the human and she would be waiting.


	11. Chapter 11

Six stayed in her room, drifting in and out of fitful dreams until her body's desire for food won out over her mind. Every so often she heard the metal footfalls of the Centurions through her pillow and she would tense under the blankets. The thought of one of her brothers seeing her in a weakened state yet unwilling to change the situation shamed her. They looked to her for guidance and if they wanted to go on in the galaxy proud that they were the reason the galaxy survived she would have to get up. Her stomach agreed with a mighty roar and a sharp bite. Slowly she pushed her blankets off of her, her limbs heavy and aching from the lack of movement. Was this what it felt like to be one of the humans she tortured on New Caprica? Bile rose in the back of her throat at the memory of a man begging for the Centurion with her not to break his leg.

"Six?" the query came from the other side if the rippled glass partition that separated her room from the corridor. "The Centurions said you were up. I brought you some food."

"Of course, come in." she replied softly.

The room lightened slightly as the quarian came around the partition with a tray of food. It smelled light and grainy. She tried to stretch her mouth into a smile but it might have come across as a grimace.

Kenn placed the tray on her desk and turned to her. He shifted is weight from left to right and fingered the OSD in his hand.

"We're at Kobol and the Hybrid is working on the data from the base." he started. "I've also received a couple of bursts from the Flotilla and others through Aria." He made a show of putting it by her food.

"Thank you Kenn." Six placed a hand on the quarian's shoulder. He nodded and left her alone to eat and read in peace.

The first message she read was from the Commander from the _Parthian_ _Rage_ explaining how he found how to contact her. The Colonists were being well cared for by the Alliance and the Council wanted to to find her, find out if she was friend or foe. Horizon's colonists were extending an open invitation for her to come and stay on Horizon if she wanted. The second was from some one called the Illusive Man. He headed an organization called Cerberus that took it upon itself to promote the ascendency of humanity on the galactic stage. Her initiative going after the Collectors, while hindering to his own investigation with Commander Shepard, showed him that she was an ally he wanted, he needed. Six sneered at the message. She had read reports gained by hacking into the Alliance intels about Cerberus' movements.

Bombing schools of of races, experiments on beings including humans? She wanted to be away from such activities not be an accomplice to them. The first one made her smile, being around a small colony of humans would help her get acclimated to the new galaxy that lived around them. There were other planets she wished to visit but doing so with her brothers would be hard. Plus she needed papers, she needed to exist in the government somehow. Maybe through the turian Commander or the the colonists she could speak to the Council and tell them what she had found and gain some footing. Telling them about her past and what she was would be a hurdle but it had to be done. Putting down the OSD she started on her food letting the motions of ingesting the protein and bread and iced tea give her a rhythm to plan.

The food was bland and she didn't mind leaving the tray on her desk, she would clean it up later. She made her way up to the Primary Hybrid, passing by the Control Center where Kenn was working with the Centurions. It was pleasing to see the young quarian getting along with her metallic brothers though his people had been exiled by their own creations. Maybe being on this ship would give him the courage to change his peoples view of their own creations. Children should never be without the love of their parents. Six's steps softened as she came closer to the Hybrid's chamber. She slipped off her shoes and padded over to the sunken tank that held the woman-thing. It babbled about things logistical and ephemeral, weaving the role of anchor and prophet effortlessly.

"Your hybrids are very interesting." Morinth's voice drifted from the chamber's entrance. Six didn't acknowledge the asari's presence which didn't disturb the alien. "Their monologues are works of art in their own way."

Her rubber soled boots made almost no sound as she took the ledge opposite of her and sat cross legged slouching down to rest her elbows on her knees. She cupped her chin in her hands and studied the pale blond across from her.

Six's gaze lifted from the hybrid and up to her. "I apologize for my outburst a few days ago. You should not have had to hear such things."

Morinth snorted and waved the apology off. "Practically nothing phases me anymore, Six. Do you still want to be called Six? Layla is such a pretty name."

"I am a Six."

"But you're the only Six in the galaxy. You're the only one of your kind period. That makes you-"

"The end."

"Special." Morinth snorted and leaned back. "We're both special. I'm a genetic defect who can never have children and you're the perfect doppleganger for humanity. We're both beautiful and both deadly. I say we give the Council the information from the Collectors and tour Humanity's slice of the galaxy."

"That would mean you couldn't kill anybody. Can you handle not deriving pleasure from others in that way?" Six practically sneered the question.

"Of course I can." Morinth answered flippantly though she was too quick with her answer to satisfy Six. "I can quit whenever I want."

Six guffawed. "You sound like an addict."

"I am not going to justify myself to you." Her face softened. "Can we at least go to a few clubs while we're there?"

"We have to get there first. I don't know how I'll get my smaller ship there. It was a pirate ship before we liberated it? We could be arrested because of it's previous owners and there is no way I'm bringing the baseship to Citadel space."

"Kenn might be able to fix that." Morinth replied. "I'll go see if he can so we can head out in a few days. We'll have to find you a good forger too."

Six nodded and dipped her fingers into the liquid surrounding the hybrid. The bright light coming from the tank engulfed her fingers. Morinth left the Six in her state and made her way to the command center. Kenn was not at his usual station and after a quick search found him in the main hangar with the Centurions and the ship she and Six had been discussing.

"You wouldn't, by chance, be wiping the history of the ship and giving it a new identity, would you?" she asked with a playful smile and a lovely sway to her hips.

The quarian quickly turned to see the asari killer behind him and gestured to a nearby Centurion. "Ah, no, I'm not. Should I?" he inquired.

"Our dear leader has it in her head to go to the Citadel or somewhere outside of the Terminus Sector." she came over and leaned against the ship's hull. "Without the baggage of this ship's previous owner to hampen it."

Kenn activated his omni-tool and tapped a few commands in. "Easily done. I've dubbed her the _Kobol_."

"Quick one aren't you." Morinth teased. "Are you sure it'll pass C-Sec scrutiny?"

"Of course," he answered in feigned shock and then chuckled. "I actually did it yesterday. I've learned to think ahead, especially with the moody cylon in charge. Has she told you where we're going after this?"

Morinth shook her head. "No, I don't think she even knows." she studied him for a moment and then. "After this are you going to go back to the Flotilla?"

"I don't...no, I think I'll stay and help her out, she seems like she needs it." Kenn replied and turned back to the _Kobol_.

Morinth took this as a signal that she should leave him be. Maybe she would go back to her rooms and keep an eye on the extranet for anything to do with her protector.

* * *

Layla decided it would be better to move the Baseship out of the system that Kobol resided and jump to a deserted system. From there they would take the _Kobol _to the Citadel. The extrapolated data from the Base was stored in an encrypted hard drive in a case that only Cylon coding could unlock. The plan was to go to a forger named Fade and get a couple of IDs for Morinth and Layla and then try and see the Human Alliance's Ambassador. From there they could get a hold of the Council and negotiate with the Collector Base data.

The trio stood in the cockpit watching the lavender nebula and the star that was enshrouded by the gases gave off an ethereal glow that made the Citadel a wonder to behold. There were hundreds of ships entering and exiting the airspace like bees exiting a hive. It was large, larger than the Collector Base, almost as large as a moon. Layla barely heard Kenn talk to the traffic control operators, her gaze focused on the Galactic seat of power. She glanced down at her casual suit and then at Morinth in the same outfit that her mother had worn. The asari could pull herself off as her mother in a heartbeat and they were going to use it to their advantage.

The _Kobol _slid effortlessly into a dock in the Factory District where they would meet up with Fade. Blue Sun mercs milled around the area keeping an eye on the trio as the entered the warehouse that served as Fade's front. Layla had a pistol on her hip but she was hoping she didn't have to use it. The asari and cylon's heels clicked resolutely against the hard flooring. One of the mercs came over and scanned Layla and Morinth for more weapons than what they had presented. Satisfied that there were none he waved them through the door to an office. It was sparse, economical, easy to move if he had been tailed.

Fade was a human, balding, lecherous, perfect for a minor criminal, Morinth wanted to throw him against the wall and turn his insides into liquid. He gestured for them to come forward and Morinth took point.

"Well, look whose come to brighten my day." he leered and leaned forward so that his elbows propped him on her desk.

Morinth kept her back straight but she moved like a stalking predator. " Are you Fade?" she asked.

"That's me, toots. What can I do for you two lovely ladies today?"

"We require two new IDs and we were told you were the one to talk to." she answered.

Fade grinned and leaned back. "Whoever told you that was correct. I can have those IDs finished in three hours." he picked up a datapad and slid his fingers over the orange screen. "Have any preferences in mind?"

"We have the identities already worked up." the asari pulled up her omni-tool. "We just need you to make up the IDs themselves and we shall part ways."

Fade frowned but shrugged. "I can handle that with no problem. Come back here in three hours and you shall have your IDs."

After the data transfer and payments were complete Morinth and Layla left the forger's den through a room and exited one of the wards. Three guards stayed in the room and gave them the safe word that they would need once Fade signaled them to return. The front door of the warehouse opened onto one of the Wards. The feel of so many beings around them made Layla smile. Morinth was slightly more immune to the bustle.

"We need to go shopping," Morinth replied and absently ran her hands down the red uniform she wore. "I'm tired of wearing the same ten things over and over again. You deserve to have some pretty clothes too."

"We need to tell Kenn where we're going."

Morinth opened her omni-tool typed out a message and closed it again. "Done. Now we shop."

She took Layla's hand and started down the concourse towards the taxi and the expensive shops she wanted to frequent. The view of the Citadel from taxi and the transition from the darkness of the Wards to the sunny beauty of the Presidium made Layla grin. Beautiful Asari and human females in beautiful and costly clothes entered and exited the boutiques giving the duo a wide path because of their cheaper clothing.

The centuries old asari stalked about the shops as if the delicate couture were picking and choosing her purchases as a young asari maiden hustled behind her to grab what she was to take. Layla kept her distance from the hunt, instead sitting in a plush chair in a corner with a cool drink. Time slipped through their grasp like a flutter of eyelashes but by the time Morinth's omni-tool beeped to remind them of their appointment with Fade. They would pick up their purchases once they checked into a hotel after they got their new identities.

A volus was waiting for them when they entered the warehouse that served as Fade's front. "Greetings. I am to give you these." he replied holding out three small OSDs. Morinth took them and looked them over.

"Nice doing business with you." she replied swiftly and motioned Layla to follow her out the way they came.

* * *

Next chapter hopefully coming sooner than this one.


	12. Chapter 12

New chapter and I've started working on my other fic and I'm helping a friend with another piece of fiction.

* * *

Fade had lived up to his reputation. The IDs that he made identical to the real things and Kenn, Morinth and Layla were quickly brought into the hustle and bustle of the Presidium docking bays with the _Kobol_. The throngs of aliens that made the faux sunlit inner ring of the Citadel were well dressed and articulate. Through the translation programs that Layla had downloaded into her silicate mind she could understand the bits of conversation floating around her. Morinth was in her element among the populous and her strides spoke of confidence born from centuries of struggling to stay alive. With a quick call she had a suite of rooms put under her account for herself and Layla. Kenn, as the rest of his race, did not feel comfortable without a clean room and a separate room mainly used for quarian employees to the high rollers that passed through was enough for him.

Layla frowned at the implication of him being less than she or Morinth. The Asari was a fugitive and serial killer and she was being that had described as a walking toaster with artificial skin by those she had fought against so many millenia ago. On the contrary Kenn was the least dangerous of the three and the nicest. On the way to the hotel they had advised the boutiques that they had patronized as to the address of their hotel and the packages were being delivered post haste. Kenn chuckled when he saw the stacks of parcels sitting on Layla's and Morinth's beds.

"I can never understand how one person can have that many clothes." he replied picking up and thin rectangular box and gave it a shake.

"Up until a couple of years ago I shared many things with my sisters." Layla replied with a wistful smile as she carefully hung some of her longer garments in a closet. "

"Lucky me. I've never had that problem." Morinth replied from the doorway of Layla's room. She had changed from her jumpsuit to a sleek dress of red and gray. "I was able to get an appointment for you to see the man who used to be the human ambassador the day after tomorrow."

"That was quick." Kenn came closer. "How did you get that done?"

"Told him it pertained to the attacked on the _Parthian_ _Rage_ and Cerberus." Morinth grinned. "It still gives us a day to rest up after a night of dancing and music tonight."

Layla frowned as put the last of her wardrobe away. "Do you think that's wise? I don't exactly remember the last time I partied with you."

"I do and I think you need to do it again. Just to let you unwind. Don't worry I won't let you take any sort of drug except alcohol."

Layla's brow furrowed as she weighed her options about being out in the throngs of people on the Citadel. She sighed. "Alright but I don't want to be out all fraking night, understand?"

"Of course Layla," Morinth smirked. "Can't have our little machine's batteries being low when you go and meet Udina. Maybe you'll charm you're way into seeing Councilor Anderson and give him the data in person. Now, I'm going to go and take advantage of the amazing spa they are supposed to have here."

Morinth fluttered her fingers in a delicate wave and left the room to Kenn and Layla. The quarian shook his head at their biotic's behavior and looked back over to Layla who had picked up a datapad and was going over it as she sat on the immense bed she was using. She quirked a corner of her lips up in a small smile and shrugged in a "what-can-you-do" expression.

"What are you going to do while we're here?" she asked.

"I don't know. There really isn't anything that quarian's can do in the open air."

"So you're just going to mope about the suite until we're done? That's doesn't seem very exciting."

"I was going to buy some new converters and stabilizing grids for the _Kobol_ since we're in a location where they won't be hot." he answered hesitantly.

"Tell me how much you'll need before you go so I can transfer the funds over for you." she replied and looked back down at the pad in her hand. "I wonder how much information I should entice Udina with in our meeting. I don't want to lay everything out but withholding too much would be just as bad as giving him too much."

"Give him copies of the gun cam of the Reaper they were building and then of the pods from the base. You'll be giving him the bigger picture but not enough to scratch the itch."

The blonde nodded and smiled broadly at him. "Too smart by half, aren't you. Go and loaf, see what kind of vids are on."

Kenn patted the bed in farewell and left his leader in peace. It was strange to be in a place so open an airy after being on the baseship and studying the designs and inner workings of the Centurions, the filthy conditions and the cluttered array of the Flotilla. It was strangely exhilarating to to be in such decadence. The entertainment center was an extension of the decadence, it spanned most of the inner wall and Kenn tried to make sure that the volume wasn't too loud. Hours stretched by as he puttered through the vid stations and settling on a "Fleet and Flotilla" marathon.

The cocktail lounges on the Presidium were overpriced and filled with people with too much money and not enough taste. The only thing good about it was the drinks and a wonderful view of the Nebula. Morinth sat not far from her flirting with a a slightly villainous looking man with a fine taste for clothing. He glanced a few times over at Layla but kept his attention to the wiles of the blue skinned alien next to him. He was a hunter being hunted by a predator who rarely needed to look over her shoulder for protection.

Though she kept her gaze towards the nebula but her other senses were turned to the rest of the lounge. Through the drifting currents of conversation she picked up what Morinth was babbling on about with the man. It was mindless talk and it was probably intriguing to the human but Layla found it dull and never worth repeating. Then the conversation stopped with a giggle from Morinth and Layla tensed at the silence.

"Layla." Morinth prying her attention and sight away from the nebula and up to her companion and the human male. He still looked villainous and his smile was appraising, Layla didn't like it one bit but she didn't let on yet.

"Layla, this is Donovan Hock," Morinth introduced with a small smile. "Donovan this is Layla, my dear friend."

Donovan extended a hand and Layla warily place her empty hand in his. He bent down and touched his lips to the soft back of her hand and gave her a small smile as he straightened. "A pleasure to meet you."

"And you, Mr. Hock." Layla replied and gave him a twitch of her lips as a response to his smile.

"Your friend tells me that you have just come from Omega."

The man took the seat to her right while Morinth came around and took the seat to her left. Layla glanced at her companion and wondered what was going through her head. Was the asari playing with him? Waiting to do to him like what she did to so many others in the past? Doing so would withdraw Layla's protection from Samara and did Morinth really want that?

"Indeed." she kept the answer short to lead him to ask other questions.

"It is a place of opportunity to those that find it." Hock replied

"Which is not many," she answered back. "Only those with the lack of scruples do well there. Other than that it is a place that no good person should live and the scum that like it there should be wiped from the galaxy."

"And what of Aria T' Loak? She has the most power there."

Layla snorted. "Met her and I find her lacking. Her speech about her being queen bee and don't fuck with Aria is old and tired. You shouldn't have to tell people what you are. If you're important enough you shouldn't have to say anything."

"And if they don't know?"

"Then they're don't matter." Layla replied darkly, and took a sip of her drink. "Or you don't matter."

"Do you know who I am?" His accent lent it more towards a tease then serious discussion.

Morinth eyed Layla and saw that she was pulling the man into her grasp. It was something that Morinth loved to do, maybe Layla would do as she did and use him then throw him away. The human was very rich and powerful in the darker places of the galaxy, like Omega and Aria.

Layla matched his lean and smiled, her perfect teeth luminescent in the darkened lounge. "Give me a reason to care?" she asked.

It was easy to read the challenge in her voice, she was not a simpering femme that played and then easily gave in. She would make him work to get whatever he wanted out of her because she didn't really want to give him anything. The man thought she was playing with him, teasing him, making him work for her goods. Her toy gun was actually real and she would shoot him down if she found him lacking. Donovan didn't say a word. It didn't appear that he even gave the question a single thought.

Layla finished her drink and put the glass down. It the clink of the glass on the metal table had the finality of a judge's gavel. "Apparently not." she replied. She turned to Morinth. "I shall see you in our rooms."

The crowds shifted seamlessly around her as she made her way from her seat to the entrance of the lounge. The sudden shift of night to day jarred her from her dark haze and she gave the world a small smile. Around her aliens milled and wandered, moving with a determination to some meeting or home. If they noticed the blonde in the blue dress she didn't see it. Her feet carried her to the CRT depot and she made her way back to the hotel. The receptionist at the desk relayed to her that the Councilor's office had asked to see her in the morning. The suite was dark and Kenn had apparently turned in for the night. Layla would wisely follow the young quarian's lead.

Layla was the first one out of the rooms the next morning, her designer suit pressed a clean against her lean lines and flawless skin. She carried a small satin metal briefcase in one hand and her other hand casually tucked into a small pocket at her hip. A personal taxi was waiting for her out side of the hotel and it bypassed the early morning traffic to the Council's tower. The drive gave her ample time to rethink every eventuality that would happen before, during, and after the meeting. She had to make sure that she was prepared, she was going into unknown territory and she did not want to frak it up.

"Here we are ma'am." the asari driver replied as she slowed the car down to land on a solitary landing pad.

Layla noticed two turians in armor and a grey haired human waiting for her on the pad. Or maybe he was to use the car after she exited. She steeled herself for the welcome she would receive. The large door lifted open and she slid out, her heels clicking softly as she came towards the trio. The human started forward with the two turians following after him.

He offered her an open hand in greeting. "Welcome to Citadel Tower. I am Ambassador Udina, Advisor to Councilor Anderson."

"Thank you for seeing me, sir." she replied switching her case from one hand to the other so that she could shake his hand.

"You're request was intriguing to the Councilor." he replied as he guided her out of the landing area and through the hallways to a lone door in a secluded hallway. They stopped just outside the door. "Councilor wants to see you alone. These gentlemen will escort you back to the landing pad when you are finished."

Layla thought of this and nodded. "Thank you."

The door opened and she stepped past him, the door closing behind her. The office was open and airy with a room length balcony that let in the light. To her right was sleek desk but it was empty. The man she was to meet with was in front of her. He gave off the air of dignity and he was a military man. He was used to leading troops and less on politics.

"Councilor Anderson." she replied with an incline of her chin. "Thank you for seeing me."

"Your request to see me stated that you have information involving the Collectors and the Reapers."

"That is correct." Layla placed her silver case on a nearby table and clicked it open. She pulled out an OSD and came towards him. "As you are aware a turian vessel named the _Parthian_ _Rage_ was involved in an incident with the Collectors ship and was damaged. Both ships were damaged in the attack. Another ship, of a design not known by any Council race intervened and permanently disabled the ship."

Anderson nodded. "Teams from both the unknown vessel, lead by someone known as Six and Commander Mycius boarded the vessel and extracted the Colonists inside the ship. When the asari ship Sojourn entered the space the team from the unknown ship departed. Days later it was seen in the Omega system and then disappeared."

"That ship made a successful trip through the Omega 4 relay and found the Collector Base." she handed him the OSD. "This OSD contains some of the information that the mysterious ship mined from the Collector ship and the base. It also contains gun cam footage from the assault on the base. The Collectors were abducting the Colonists and using them to provide material for a Reaper construct."

"So the Collectors _were_ working for the Reapers. Cerberus was right. Shepard was right." he looked down at the OSD and then up at her. "The Council can't ignore proof if what you say and the data you've given me is real."

"The immediate threat of the Collectors is gone but the Reapers are another beast altogether."she said moving to the light of the balcony. She stared out at the people on the Presidium. "If I get more data I will certainly give it to you...for a price."

"Are you blackmailing me?" Anderson snapped.

"Not at all," Layla replied with a smile. "It is only that the ones responsible for the data have had a past with humanity and they would like reassurances that they shall not be harmed if they choose to make themselves known."

"Are you saying that they're batarians?"

Layla leveled a dismissing gaze and stroked the balcony's railing. "Your concern right now, Councilor, is how to broach the subject with the other Councilors without sounding like a lunatic. God has a plan and He brought me to you, Councilor."

As the last statement left her mouth she wondered at it. She had never been the most religious Cylon in the universe. Her faith had been shattered at the onset of the civil war and holding her dying lover in her arms as the baseship died around her. Now she was talking about the One True God and His plan? What would her Leoben say to her? He would smile knowingly at her and plant a small approving kiss on her lips as his hands slid around her hips to settle on the small of her back. Tell her that she had finally opened her eyes to the stream.

"It will take some convincing but I think that their safety can be arranged. If this proves accurate." Anderson replied. "What do you get out of the deal?"

"What they get. Atonement, forgiveness for past sins." Layla stepped away from the balcony. "I will leave you my case and the files in it to read and discuss with your Council whenever you please." She went to the door and pressed the orange hologram to open it."Good day, Councilor Anderson."


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry for the wait. New job new stress.

Kenn' Haal walked through the ward where he could purchase the convertors and tried to be more confident than he felt. It was strange being surrounded by living beings when he had been surrounded by synthetics for more than a week. It did not feel like the Centurions were judging him against the past of this race, unlike those in Citadel Space. He just needed to remember to keep his head down figuratively speaking and he would be alright. Quickly he made his way through the throngs of people and jogged down the final steps to the level he needed to be. The used transport depot was staffed by volus and he felt a little better.

"Good day, sir." he greeted the first volus that noticed him. "I was the one who called about the convertors for an Ariedes V-25."

The volus studied him but made no disparaging remarks since the convertors were not cheap and he had not tried to haggle the price down. To the volus that meant that Kenn was not going back to the Flotilla or that he was purchasing for someone else.

"Ah yes would." the volus replied and punched in the order into the terminal in front of him. "Would you like delivered to your ship or will you have someone come to collect it?"

"Delivered please." he answered smoothly. "To Matisuri Ward Dock 32, the_ Kobol._"

"Very good sir. Your purchase will arrive in one standard hour."

Kenn nodded and finished the transaction with a few presses from his omni-tool. "I'll be there."

"Have a pleasant day, sir."

Kenn nodded and left the store making his way to the shuttle that would take him across the citadel to the dock where Morinth had leased the dock for the _Kobol_ while they were on the station. It wasn't far from the hotel's area of the Presidium but as it was in the Wards it was much cheaper. His plan was to get there early and secure the Centurions on board and explain to them what was going to happen with the convertors he was buying. Then they would be out of sight for the delivery just in case the people delivering the product were jumpy. If he timed it right he would be back after Morinth had left for the day with the human male she brought back with her.

Layla had told him what Morinth was and how she operated. She also made it clear that the asari wouldn't give in to her baser instincts while in their company. That begged the question if asari could feel pleasure without "merging" with their chosen mate. If she cold then that would leave him in the clear for helping her dispose of the body. He shuddered at the thought of what Layla would do to Morinth if that happened.

The _Kobol_ was tiny against the backdrop of the Citadel but he didn't mind it too much. His pace was leisurely as he made his way through the docks to the airtight gangway that led to the ship. He keyed in the password for the gangway and stepped inside. In hindsight he should have listened for the doors to close on the outer seal before opening the inner seals into the ship.

Something hard hit Kenn across his shoulders and he stumbled. Because of his helmet he did not see a massive, booted foot kick him on his side. The force of the hit caused him to slam into the wall and he tried to regain his breath and his footing.

"Your friend should learn not to bad mouth about people better than her." a deep flanging voice hissed and he hit Kenn's helmet again.

The force of the impact made Kenn's forehead hit the visor and he saw sparks.

"Help." He groaned into his helmet's comm hoping that someone, anyone could hear him. He barely heard the metal on metal sound of the Centurion's as they came to investigate the call from the quarian.

"Nice mechs," another voice sounded off to his right. "Aria might like them as an "apology" gift."

He could hear the Centurion's optics scan the turians beating him and then there was gunshots and groans as his assailants were struck by slugs from bleeding edge technology weapons. One of the Centurion's grabbed him by the shoulders and hauled him to his feet. Luckily for him none of the seals in his suit was broken and his helmet hadn't been cracked. The Centurion did not let him go.

"I think I can stand on my own." he replied softly. "Thank you."

He looked down at the two dead turians and then back to the Centurions. Blue blood was seeping onto the gangway deck and Kenn backed away from the spreading pool.

"Oh Keelah, what are we going to do with them?"

There was the sound booted feet running and Kenn froze. What would he say to the beings coming to investigate? The truth would probably work best Kenn could lie if he tried. Two humans in C-Sec gear appeared. They looked down at the turians and then at him and the Centurions.

"What happened here?" one of them asked.

Kenn's voice shook. "They tried to jump me but my employers mechs shot them before they could break through my suit."

The officers came closer to the bodies and the silent one narrowed his eyes. "I recognize these two. Scum, both of them."

"Who do you work for and where are they?"

"Her name is Layla Sextus and she was supposed to meet with Ambassador Udina this morning." Kenn kept to the truth.

The officer who spoke first stepped away from the scene with his fingers to his head set. He was rapidly spouting off codes that Kenn didn't know. The other officer glanced over at his partner and then back to Kenn.

"We'll have someone go over the security footage. Did they say anything to you?"

"Um...'Your friend should learn not to bad mouth people better than her.' Is what I remember." he replied.

The officer thought for a moment and then first officer came back into the group. "The station is already pulling footage and forensics will be here momentarily." he turned to Kenn. "Sir, you'll have to come with us just in case their friends try and repay you."

"I have a shipment of parts that I have to sign for," Kenn replied sulkily. "In a few minutes."

"This is a crime scene, sir and no one can enter a crime scene."the officer replied. "You'll have to reschedule the delivery for another time. Now come along sir."

Kenn hunched his shoulders in defeat and sealed the airlock of the _Kobol _as he followed the C-Sec officers out of the docks and to their station a few meters away. Some people stared at him as she walked between him and he felt the slow tendril of shame coil in his body. Layla would probably understand what had happened and be rightfully mad at the people who did it. But who did she piss off and what did she say? He could vaguely remembering hearing one of the turians say a name but he couldn't quite tap it in. The officers kept quiet and only nodded a greeting to the officers that were on duty at the C-Sec office.

Thankfully they didn't place him in a holding cell but sat him in an interrogation room until Layla could retrieve him. He was still equipped with his omni-tool and dutifully changed the delivery to the next day and started playing a free to play extranet game. Time past quickly and when the doors opened to reveal a relieved looking Layla who came over and hugged him against her taller frame he returned the hug. The blonde haired Cylon pulled away but kept her hands on his shoulders. They barely registered the C-Sec officer behind her.

"Are you okay? Do you need to go see a doctor?" she asked.

Kenn patted her hands and slid out from them. "No, I'm fine. A little bruised but fine. They didn't break any of the seals."

"There's one good thing. I've already talked to C-Sec and they're investigating the assault. I'm so sorry that this has happened to you." Layla replied turned towards the door and the C-Sec. "You tell me as soon-"

"Of course ma'am." the officer replied and stepped out of their way as they left the room and walked out of the station.

Morinth was waiting by a car and nodded when she saw him. They got into the car and did not speak until it was underway. "I've already talked to Donovan Hock to see what kind of pull Aria has and its fairly large."

"I thought I heard one of the men mention Aria but I wasn't sure."

"She's getting to be annoying." Layla growled. "Do you think she'll try it again?"

Morinth snorted. "I doubt she even knew about it. Probably some lackey of hers trying to keep her honor." she turned to Layla. "I forgot to tell you that we've been invited to a party at Donovan's estate on Bekenstein in a couple of days."

"Oh?"

"Yes, it should interesting." Morinth smiled. "We'll be staying at his compound for a few days."

"I doubt I'll be able to stay." Layla said succinctly. Until C-Sec found out who attacked Kenn or who ordered it she didn't trust the man Morinth had ensnared into her bed. For all she knew Donovan ordered the assault to push Morinth into doing something. She saw Morinth frown in the reflection of the glass.

"Just enjoy yourself for a little bit Layla, please?" Morinth sighed. "Your all business attitude is going to rub off on Kenn and I."

Layla thought for a moment and looked to Kenn and then back to Morinth. "Is Kenn invited too?"

Morinth's brow furrowed. "I should hope so. What do you say, Kenn?"

The Quarian shook his head. "No, I-I wouldn't want to intrude on Mr. Hock's hospitality."

"Well if you won't come with us I will make you a few spa appointments and you can have the run of the suite until Layla and I return." Morinth replied with a smile. "You shall be pampered without any fear of infection and injury, I promise."

Anderson did not get back to her by the time Morinth and Donovan wee ready to leave the Citadel and head to a small planet in the Nebula called Bekenstein. Bekenstein looked like Caprica on steroids. Tall city-scapes littered the globe and sun that it orbited reflected in the silvery windows like facets on jewels. In front of her sat Morinth and Hock and behind her sat mercs in black and white armor. She had packed light, enough for a few days, including one of the dresses that Morinth picked out for the party.

She had been polite to Donovan when he spoke to her and took his condolences on Kenn's attack at face value...in front of Morinth. The fact that Morinth _hadn't_ killed him spoke of something changing in Morinth.

Hock's estate was set into a ridge over one of the larger lakes and Layla bet that his compound extended into the ridge. They landed at what she could assume was the entrance and four men in matching livery came out with a handful of guards to greet them. One of the men took her bag and helped her out of the shuttle.

Hock nodded at her. "Jonathan will escort you to your room, It has a wonderful view of the lake and the city. The rest of the guests will be arriving for the party in a couple of hours. Please get some rest and I shall see you there."

"Thank you." Layla replied and waved Jonathan to get moving.

The man nodded and silently led her away from Morinth and Donovan and into the sleek abode. The way to her room was winding but the view from her room was fantastic. She slowly made her way onto the balcony while Jonathan hung her outfits up in a closet and put her toiletries in the en-suite bathroom. Her eyes closed and she felt the touch of a familiar hand rest on her shoulder. It squeezed lightly as she opened her eyes to see if it was really who she thought it was.

A crooked smile that caused shivers to run through her in anticipation. Blonde hair, dirtier than her platinum but lighter than her sisters' honey locks. Her second soul stood next to her in a pair of cargo pants and blue shirt and his feet were bare. From far away she heard the door shut indicating that Jonathan had left her to her own devices Something kept her from speaking, as if breaking the silence would dissipate the illusion next to her. He leaned forward and she could feel his breath on her cheek. Her chest hitched as a second hand slid over her stomach and settled over her belly button. The heat made her melt and she leaned into the touch.

Suddenly the touches and heat was gone and she was alone, looking off onto the view. She took a breath and then another and checked the time. In what felt like only a few moments had really been a lot longer and her time limit for solitude had passed. Her changing felt like a ritual, her hands rearranging her dress just so as it fell over her curves pining her hair at a certain angle.

An alarmed sounded at her door and she opened it. The first thing she noticed was the familiar blue lipped smirk of her companion and the deep V of her black dress. It was slinky and shiny and hugged the asari like decadence to sin. The gleam in Morinth's eye made Layla redden and look down at her dress.

"You look edible." Morinth chuckled and pulled Layla out of her room and into the hallway and started away from the room."Most of the guests have shown up and they've all brought gifts for Donovan. One of them even brought him a solid gold statue of Saren Arcturius, the infamous rogue Spectre."

Layla chuckled. "Solid gold? That's sounds gaudy."

"Indeed but some of these people have no taste." Morinth hissed and they stepped quickly down the main stairs and into the crowd.

They did not stop to introduce themselves to any of the guests but went straight for a set of stairs next to the glass wall that looked out over the landscape. The stairs led down to a hallway and they stopped in the middle facing the inner wall. With a few types of Morinth's omni-tool the wall shimmered and faded away to reveal a hidden room with a highly secured door and the statue of the turian Spectre. Layla frowned but didn't step inside.

"This is the entrance to Donovan's private vault where all of his priceless treasures are. He says that I'll get to see what he's hidden away in there soon." Morinth replied smugly. "Come on lets get you something to drink."

Donovan met them at the landing of a stairs with two flutes of champagne. Morinth smiled up at him and then tsked. "Let me get another glass of champagne. Why don't you introduce Layla to some of the handsome men in the room." she teased and left the two alone.

Donovan offered a flute to her and she took it with a smile. "Thank you. You have a lovely home."

Donovan nodded and offered her his arm. "It is beautiful, isn't it. Come let us introduce you as Morinth wishes."

He guided over a lone man in a black tuxedo with black hair. "Mr. Gunn." he greeted and the man turned. "I'd like you to meet Layla Sextus. Layla this is Solomon Gunn, a very successful businessman in the Terminus systems."

Layla stiffened when she saw the man Donovan called Solomon Gunn. It was Shepard and all he was armed with was a pistol. She forced herself to smile at the man that had caused her so much heartbreak in such a short time. "It's nice to meet you, Mr. Gunn."

"And you, Ms. Sextus. Is it Miss or is there a Mr. Sextus?" he asked. "It would be a shame to find a beautiful and find out she was alone."

Donovan and Layla chuckled and Layla flicked her gaze over Gunn's/Shepard's shoulder and saw Morinth take a glass from a passing waiter. "It is Ms. Sextus and if you would excuse me, gentlemen, I need to speak to someone."

It took a lot of concentration for Layla not to rush across the glossy stone floor to her blue skinned companion. She grabbed Morinth by the arm and dragged her into an alcove. The asari frowned but the look she received cut her off from making any remarks.

"What?" she asked.

"Shepard's here." she answered softly.

Morinth's eyes widened. "Are you sure?"

"Positive but I don't think he's here for us." she answered calmly. "There are any number of people he could be here for."

"Including Donovan." Morinth concluded. "Just when I got used to not killing my lovers someone is going to try and do it for me."

Layla tapped a finger on her bottom lip."Maybe not, we'll just have to wait and see."

Morinth nodded and walked away, leaving Layla to make a move on Shepard if she saw fit. Her chance came when she spied him going down the steps towards the entrance of Hock's vault. She picked up a flute of champagne from a passing waiter and stalked down the stairs to confront the intrusive Spectre. The sharp rap on her stilettos alerted the man enough to stop talking.

"So Mr. Gunn." Layla replied with a sensual quirk to her lips as she offered him a flute of champagne. "I have been quite intrigued by your operations."

Shepard/Gunn smiled, rather charmingly and took the flute from her. "It's flattering to hear a beautiful woman has been intrigued by anything I do."

They gave each other a tiny toast and both took a sip from their flutes. Layla flicked her gaze over at the wall that concealed the entrance of Hock's vault. "So are you going to tonight's little entertainment tonight? Mr. Hock has engaged a very nice nightclub for the entire night. Staying here would be very boring. Will I be seeing you there?"

If Shepard was half as intelligent as she thought she was then he would deduce rather quickly what she was wondering. Her part was easy enough to play, an attractive woman wondering how she could see more of you while keeping herself innocent of seeming forward. He studied her and took a deep breath as realization dawned on him. He finished the rest of the glass and stepped closer to her, she stood her ground as he slid his arms around her waist fingers tracing the small of her back. To anyone who looked into the secluded hall it would seem that they were two people becoming closer to one another. He brought his lips closer to her ear.

"I'm not here for you or Morinth," he replied. "but I'm going to let you interfere. I'll be good...for now."

He pulled away and lifted his flute to toast her again. Layla eyed him and finished off her champagne.

"Hope to see you there, Mr. Gunn." she replied and turned to walk back up the way she came.

As she went to take the first step her vision blurred and her head spun. She dropped her glass but she didn't hear it hit the ground. Blackness covered her and her legs buckled under her as she was swept into unconsciousness.


	14. Chapter 14

Okay so maybe its becoming a monthly thing. can you handle it?

The intense pounding on her forehead was the first thing Layla felt when she floated back into consciousness. The sight of a glossy ceiling reflecting the nighttime lights of a faraway metropolis made her groan when she opened her eyes. After the initial pain of her head throbbing anger at her own stupidity and that of Shepard's stubbornness filled her. A blue hand came into view and brushed her hair out off of her forehead.

"Take deep breathes," a soft, wise voice slithered into her ears. It was a voice she hoped not to hear in a long time. "Commander Shepard and Kasumi used a little more sedative than they should have."

"Morinth?" Layla asked hopefully and her breath hitched.

The alien sighed and she knew it was an asari by the hands. "She's gone. Fled when Donovan Hock was killed."

Layla couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. If she had been conscious she would have made Morinth flee the estate, Donovan be damned, if Shepard hadn't listened to her. A tear escaped her eye and the alien that was the progenitor of her absent companion brushed it off her temple. The act was too motherly and it made Layla angry. How could this woman act so kindly to her yet hunt a daughter that had no say in how she was made? The sedative was still in her system, she felt the sluggishness, so she could not attack this woman.

"Get away from me." Layla hissed . She hoped that her dismissal would signal the woman's farewell.

"I know what it is like to lose-"

"Shut the frak up," Layla groaned and sat up." Just tell me where the exit is so I don't have to see you or Shepard again."

"You are not fit to leave bed yet but the door is open whenever you wish to leave." Samara replied calmly.

Layla made sure to see that she was fully clothed and pushed her bottom off the mattress. Her legs were slightly weak and wobbly from the sedative and her bare feet gave her better purchase on the high pile carpet. In the reflection of the floor to ceiling windows she saw Samara stand with her, ready to catch her if she stumbled. Layla straightened to her full height and came around the bed, challenge glimmered in her eyes.

"You do not carry an omni-tool," Samara observed offering Layla her shoes. "How will you get a hold of anybody?"

Layla took the shoes and sneered. "You're thinking inside the box. You should pray that you don't become trapped in it and die."

She left the asari in the room and quickly made her way down the hall to the sign that indicated the location of the nearest elevators. No one was in sight to see her walking barefoot or her disheveled hair. For anybody that did they might just think that she was a trophy girl leaving the room of an on the side fling or her rich older sugar daddy. The elevator's VI told her that she was on the 35th floor and the car started it's descent to the lobby.

For anybody who didn't know what she was her being without an omni-tool would seem strange. But being a machine gave her a couple of advantages. Her omni-tool was implanted into her forearm and pressing an almost non-existent bump on her left arm activated it. The familiar yellow-orange glow came into view and she dialed Kenn up. The Quarian's faceplate came into view.

"Layla?" he questioned. "What's the matter?"

"Hock is dead, I was a drugged and Morinth has disappeared."

"What? How?"

"Shepard, though I'm sure he wasn't after us."

"Where are you?"

"I'm in a hotel of some sort. Morinth's mother was there when I woke up which means that Shepard is skulking around here somewhere." she bit her lip and tapped her fingers on the railing of the elevator.

"Have you heard from C-Sec or the Council?"

"Only from the Council. Anderson wishes for you to speak to the rest of the Council in a private session. I'll make arrangements for you to get off world and ping you with the itinerary."

Layla nodded. "Thank you, Kenn. Notify me when you hear from Morinth too. Okay?

"I will."Kenn disappeared from view and Layla slumped against the wall.

Her eyes stayed on the floor indicator, watching the numbers tick down towards the ground floor. Her stomach tightened with the knowledge that she had somehow failed Morinth in not stopping Shepard. The elevator stopped at the tenth floor and the doors slid open to the figure of a bearded reddish hair man. He was dressed casually with a billed navy blue cap covering his head. He walked into the elevator with a considerable limp and stood at the far end of the elevator. The doors slid close again as he pushed the ground floor button. The car shuttered slightly but it was enough for the man to loose his balance slightly. He caught himself just as he was about to fall completely and when his body was at the farthest angle something in a leathery fabric brushed against her arm.

She had not been alone when she had called Kenn, Shepard had someone follow her. Anger made her fist fly out and connected with the invisible being. The air crackled and tinged blue for a split second and then there was three people in the elevator. It was shorter woman dressed in a black cat-suit and hood. The force of Layla's punch caused the woman to bend over and Layla landed another punch to the woman's head. The woman dropped to the floor and didn't move. The man just stared wide-eyed at

Layla.

"Are you okay?" she asked him and the man nodded shakily.

Layla knelt down next to the woman and moved to flip the woman over. The man shuffled forward to see who the woman was and his shadow fell over her. Carefully she slipped her arms under the woman and rolled her over. She felt for a pulse and slipped under the hood to prod for any bumps that might be forming on the woman's head. There was a small one by her ear.

"She was probably hired to kill you. You should have killed her."

"I am not a murderer." Layla answered softly and stood. "If she _was _here to kill me she would have done so by now and you would have never had known about it."

The elevator slowed to a stop at the lobby and the doors opened to reveal a lobby larger than that of the hotel on the Citadel. Windows stretched four stories high to let in sunlight and tiny diamonds of rainbows from floating crystal chandeliers studded the room in random patches. Layla blinked to adjust her vision and left the woman and man in the elevator. No one paid her any mind and if they had she would have seen it. From her cursory glances she didn't see any body in armor but that didn't mean that they weren't there. Her omni-tool pinged and a small holographic screen popped open to show her the arrangements that Kenn had made for her.

A hand grabbed her bicep and jarred her away from her omni-tool. Layla looked back in annoyance and glared at the man in armor who held her. Behind him stood the dark skinned man from Omega and a black haired woman in a skin tight suit. "What do you want, Shepard?"

"We need to talk." he replied.

Layla scoffed at the statement and shrugged his hand off of her arm. "No, we don't."

"Yes, we do." Shepard said and tried to grab a hold of her arm.

Layla spun around and pushed him away from her. "You have nothing that I want to hear, Shepard. Now, leave me alone. I have a flight to catch and an appointment with the Council to get to."

She hoped that the invocation of the human's bosses would shut the man down.

The trio frowned. "You've seen the Council?"

Layla sighed and rolled her eyes. "Go away, Shepard." she spun around and made her way to the valet and the cab that was waiting for her.

Shepard slid in beside her just as the doors were closing and Layla growled. "What the hell? Why do you keep butting into my affairs?"

"Because you did it first." Shepard answered with a frown. "You beat me to the Collector ship _and_ to the Omega 4 relay _and _to the Collector base."

"I didn't know you were after it, Shepard. I'm not from here and I don't keep up with you. You are not the center of the fraking universe." she replied as the aircar took off.

"Look, I'm sorry about Kasumi drugging you and when I saw that she did I made sure that some of my team got into Hock's estate to get you out just in case something happened. I wasn't looking for you and I know you tried to dissuade us from hitting the vault during the day. Let me take you back to the Citadel on the _Normandy_ as a way to apologize."

"You're not one of my favorite people right now Shepard and you can frak your apology." Layla snapped. "What do you want? Why are you bugging me?"

Shepard ran his gloved fingers through his hair. "My boss is putting pressure on me because I couldn't get the job done and he invested billions of credits to bring me back from the dead and to build my ship. He's not angry that the Collectors were destroyed but he doesn't know who you are or how you got your ship and crew and that has him frightened. The Illusive Man is supposed to know everything and you are an empty spot on his dossier."

"So he wants you to infiltrate and see what I'm about? See if you can't sway me to join Cerberus? I've already gave some of the data from the Collector base to the Council to show them what they were doing and some of the data exchanges from the Reapers to their pets. As for joining a group like Cerberus? No, that I will not due. That organization has a rotten core whatever the intentions may be."

"If you're concerned with the Reapers as a whole then you should join me." Shepard replied.

"And do what? I'm not the only one involved in my operation. I have Morinth, whose mother is on your wants to kill her, and a quarian on his Pilgrimage who has already been attacked once because of me. You're knocking at the wrong door."

"You're throwing in a lot with a group of people with didn't listen to me about the Reapers or the Collectors." Shepard snapped.

"You didn't give them enough evidence. They have too much on their plate to worry about a nebulous threat that they have never heard about until a couple of years ago. Now they have some evidence and I'm going to try and convince them about it and if they are convinced? What are they supposed to do? When is the threat going to be real? How long until the Reapers attack? Do you ask a galaxy to become vigilant for so long a time that they grow weary of it and rebel against it?"

Shepard's face grew introspective at the questions that Layla tallied off. He had no idea how to answer the questions she threw at him. His thoughts were just on stopping the Collectors and her questions were answered in silence. Layla stared at him as the aircar landed at the dock with the Normandy.

"So are you going to give me a ride to the Citadel or were you just blowing smoke?"

Shepard smiled and opened the door to the car. He helped her out of the car just as two more cars landed. The limping man exited with Kasumi and Samara behind him. Shepard grinned and came over to the man. Layla stared up at the sleek _Normandy_ and then over to the group as the approached.

"Layla Sextus, meet Lt. Jeff Moreau though we just call him "Joker". He's the Helmsman of the _Normandy._"

Layla gave him a small smile and Joker grinned back. "It is good to meet you, Joker."

"Yeah, well you too."he turned to Shepard. "I'll get the ship."

Joker limped off leaving Layla and Shepard with some of his crew. The black haired woman and the man from Omega came over to them.

"What now, Shepard?" the black haired woman asked.

Layla crossed her arms over her chest and gave Shepard an expectant look. "We're going to the Citadel, Miss Sextus has an appointment with the Council and they might listen to her."

"As long as they listen then I'm happy." the darker man replied and turned to Layla. "We weren't properly introduced on Omega. Jacob Taylor." he offered his hand and Layla took it with a soft shake. he turned back to Shepard. "I'll see you aboard, Commander."

Samara and Kasumi followed after Jacob leaving Shepard with the black haired woman and Layla.

"Miranda Lawson," the woman greeted but didn't offer Layla her hand. "I'm second in command aboard the _Normandy_."

Layla smiled brightly. "Nice to meet you. It's a beautiful ship."

"Miranda would be happy to give you a tour." said Shepard and gestured for them to board the ship.

Layla followed Shepard with Miranda coming up behind them.


	15. Chapter 15

Hey its shorter than a month to get this out.

Hopefully this will feel longer...

The inside of the _Normandy_was just as sleek and shiny as the outer hull was. Joker was already at the helm, watching the final trio board. The CIC ran from the helm down to a large area where a holographic representation of the _Normandy _floated. Layla's heels rapped sharply on the metal plating which made the crew turn from their orange readouts to watch the blonde and get the searing visual reprimand from Miranda. A young red headed woman was looking through a private terminal and smiled at them as they approached.

"Kelly Chambers, my yeoman." Shepard grinned as the young woman saluted. "Kelly this is Layla Sextus. She'll be aboard for our flight to the Citadel."

"Nice to meet you Ms. Chambers." Layla replied with a nod and a smile.

"Please, just call me Kelly." The young man replied and turned to Shepard. "The Illusive Man wishes to speak to you in the debriefing room and he wants to speak to Ms. Sextus as well."

Shepard groaned. "One thing about this job I don't like." He turned to Layla. "He's my boss."

"But he's not mine." Layla replied and sighed. "I have no wish to speak to him."

"The sooner we do the sooner we can get to the Citadel. Tell Joker to head to the Citadel." Shepard finished and waved for Layla to follow him through a couple of doors into a lab and then through a hallway to a room with a table slid into the floor when they walked. Shepard guided Layla into the cylindrical orange grid that rose up to the ceiling. Layla's eyes adjusted to compensate for the drastic difference in light.

The other end of the holo was a darkened room with a clear view of a dying sun that burned blue. A man, smoking a cigarette, caught her attention and she stared at the bright glowing eyes of the shadowy figure. The man put his cigarette down into an ashtray built into the arm of his chair.

"Good work on destroying the Collector Base, Ms Sextus, but the technology of the Collectors could have come in handy in the fight against the Reapers."

Layla quirked an eyebrow but said nothing; this was a man used to hearing the sound of his own voice. He was used to drawing people to do what he wanted when he wanted without them realizing

"But what done is done and humanity has you to thank for its new safety." He picked up his cigarette and took another drag.

Layla sighed and turned to Shepard. "We are wasting time and your thanks means nothing to me. I have a meeting to get to so if we can talk another time it would be great."

"Shepard, I assume you will be at the meeting too?"

Layla shot Shepard a reproachful glance and the man shrugged. "I've been on Ms. Sextus' naughty list for a while."

"What would it take for you to work with Shepard?"

"I do not trust Shepard with any information of any kind at the moment and he will not be in the meeting. End of conversation." Layla stated mildly as though the explanation was solid fact and could not be disputed.

She spun around and walked out of the debriefing room. She stayed in the connecting hallway from the debriefing room leaning up against the wall to feel the minute vibration from the ship's engine. The door to her right opened and the man known as Jacob came through.

She felt his study of her flash against her body but she did not respond and Jacob didn't engage. He his face was friendly. "Have fun talking to the boss?"

"I met a man like him before and he destroyed everything I loved." Layla replied calmly. "I don't want to have anything to do with him."

"Most people say that when they first meet him. But as long as he walks his talk I can't complain." Jacob replied. "It's been a condition of my employment."

Layla shook her head at his confession but said nothing. Nothing she could say would change his mind he would have to witness it on his own. "Well I hope it works out for the best."

The door to the debriefing room opened and Shepard came out and crossed his arms over his chest, staring at Layla. "The Illusive Man wasn't happy about you not letting me into the meeting."

"What I have to say is for the Council and when I think you deserve it I will tell you everything that I will tell them." Layla replied much sharper than she would have liked but she was tired of being hassled by Shepard and his boss.

"If it's about the Collectors or the Reapers then Shepard should know. He's been fighting the Reapers since before Saren and Sovereign attacked the Citadel two years ago." Jacob interjected.

"Only a fraction of what I will tell the Council is about the Reapers or the Collectors. It hinges on something much larger and affects me personally. I am sure Councilor Anderson will be happy to tell you after the meeting if he should feel it prudent."

"The _Normandy _will have us at the Citadel in an hour." Shepard turned the subject away from the argument that was about to escalate. "I'm sure Ms. Sextus would like to get cleaned up and something to eat."

Jacob saluted and spun around to head back to his station. Layla looked down at herself and sighed.

"Yes, thank you."

Layla stood on the bridge of the _Normandy _in a black, skin tight suit that Miranda had donated. She was slimmer compared to the darker haired woman, an opposition in their looks. Miranda stood beside her, arms crossed over her chest as the frigate maneuvered through the traffic that moved throughout the immediate area of the Citadel. In front of them Joker kept his attention to his instruments though he wanted to take a peek at the blonde behind him. Layla's body tightened at the lessening of the distance between her and the meeting with the Council. Doubt flitted about her like gnats causing her nose to twitch in response.

The _Normandy _docked smoothly on one of the Wards and the slowness of the airlock was all that was keeping Layla from running out of the ship and away from her crew and Shepard. Shepard and Miranda followed Layla to the transport depot and they all went to the port checkpoint to enter the Citadel. They walked down a short hallway and waited for the turian to wave them through.

"Sorry for the inconvenience, ma'am." he replied.

A quarian flanked by two turians in military dress waved at her from beyond the C-Sec checkpoint. "Layla, over here!"

Layla smiled broadly at the quarian and walked briskly over to him but her gaze flicked to the two turians. The grayer of the two turians with red flashes on his face cleared his throat and stepped closer to the quarian.

"Oh, um Layla this is Captain Peltrasius and Commander Mycius of the _Parthian_ _Rage._" Kenn greeted.

Layla's smiled stayed on her face and she shook both of the turians' three digit hands. "It is good to meet you in person, Captain, Commander."

Peltrasius nodded. "It is an honor to finally meet you... Shall I call you Six or Layla?" he asked.

"Layla is fine but if you are uncomfortable with that then Ms. Sextus will do." she answered smoothly. "How fares your ship, Captain?"

"Better than we had hoped when we first met, repairs will be completed in a couple of weeks and then we are off on tour." The officer replied proudly. "Mycius and I are here at the Council's request to bear witness on your actions after the attack. Though nothing we shall say will be unattractive."

Mycius nodded. "The colonists you saved are safe in Alliance care for medical reasons and would be glad to know that you are well."

"This is a conversation best had in a more private setting." Miranda replied bringing herself and Shepard back to Layla's attention.

The turian officers and Kenn studied both of them. Layla's smile dropped a fraction. "Kenn, Captain, Commander, let me introduce Commander Shepard and Miranda Lawson of the _Normandy_."

The trio of aliens were a little surprised. "Commander." Peltrasius greeted. "It is good to see the news of your death exaggerated."

His eyes caught the symbol on Miranda's chest and his mandibles flared in anger. The symbol of Cerberus was not a happy symbol since it was connected to xenophobia and terrorism. "Mycius and I must be off, we just wanted to meet you before the hearing before the Council."

Their exit was swift and left a sour taste in Layla's mouth. She would have to do something to get her back into their good graces. She looked over at Miranda and noticed the logo. She huffed and shook her head.

"Thank you for the escort, Commander, Ms. Lawson." she replied. "I shall have your suit laundered and delivered to the _Normandy_ as swiftly as possible. Come along, Kenn."

Kenn looked a little shocked at her treatment of the Spectre but he was not pleased to see Cerberus in with Shepard. "Right."

"What? You can't just toss us out after using us." Miranda snapped angrily.

Layla spun about and pulled Miranda closer her grip stronger than she had expected. "It is not prudent for us to be around each other while on the station until after I meet with the Council. You are know to be in Cerberus' pocket and I'm trying to get the Council on my side and in turn your side. So would you kindly let me get done what needs to be done so that we can get on with our lives?"

The blonde spun around and quickly caught up with Kenn, her backside fading away from Miranda's glare. The flight back to their hotel suite was filled with one sided conversation as Kenn prattled about the investigation with C-Sec, upgrades to her ship, Morinth's disappearance and his thoughts about Cerberus and what they had done to endanger the Migrant Fleet. Her emotions were swirling about her mind and for a fleeting moment she thought about snapping Kenn's neck to shut him up.

The guilt that crested over her after the thought made her wonder about her mood. Had the Illusive Man and Shepard rattled her enough to make her prone to such thoughts? Or the thought that she was responsible for letting Morinth get away from her and loose on the galaxy cause her to lash out? Slowly she took a breath and started a silent pray to the One True God to calm her fears and sooth her mind.

The trip back to the hotel was fuzzy and her body barely let her strip off her borrowed attire and slide into one of her dresses. Being out of the tingly material that the Cerberus woman favored made her feel less dirty.

"I don't understand why you want to work with Cerberus." Kenn replied as she skimmed the order for her appearance in front of the Council.

"I don't want to work with Cerberus. I'd rather not be around Shepard or Cerberus if I can help it. They gave me a lift, fed and clothed me. Now, hopefully we can avoid them at all costs. So C-Sec knows for sure that Aria T'Loak knows nothing about your attack?"

Kenn sighed and came to sit next to her. "As certain as they can be. But they've beefed up security around the docking bay which will give Morinth a harder time in getting back to our ship."

"I hope she's okay."

"She's been doing this for centuries she'll be fine."

Morinth kept her head down as she slid through the crowds of Bekenstein's largest city outside of the capital. Her contact planet side was an easy mark for her brand of seduction and the contacts the man had for getting her past security clearances made her life a little easier. She had stayed on this rock for two days after Donovan's death, nursing her wounds and her pride with expensive alcohol and pretty young human girls. The alcohol numbed her while the young girls tried hard to make her feel something. The battles between the two left her aching for the time before the Cylon and Omega and her promise.

Her fear of heading back to the Citadel almost made her turn away from the empty cafe her contact picked for their meeting. She had nothing to hide, she had not killed the young girls she seduced but running from a woman who had helped her made her feel less than what she was. The door to the cafe opened for her and she slipped in, heading for the trim young asian man that sat in the corner. She sat across from him and let her icy blue eyes bore into his.

He smiled at her and took a drink from his mug. "I am happy to see you in one piece. Now, shall we get on with it?"

She didn't answer and he took it as an agreement to continue.

"A ship departing for the Citadel will be leaving tonight at 2100 planet time. It is captained by a grizzled looking woman by the name of Emera." he pulled an OSD from his jacket and slid it across from her. "She'll know to expect you and will deliver you to the Ward and dock you asked for."

Morinth nodded and slipped the disk into her coat. She left the cafe and the man and started back to the dingy hotel that she had paid for. She would pass her time at a strip joint down the street with a fix of halex and a few lap dances.

The Citadel Tower was an impressive structure and the lavender lighting from the flowering trees that lined the walls and dotted the hall was designed to sooth the officials and visitors that strode the halls. Layla was dressed in a conservative dress like many of the other females in Citadel space did, her blonde hair pulled into a chignon and her make up light except for her lips. Kenn stood at her side and off her peripheral vision she saw the two turian officers and a couple of the colonists from the Collector ship she rescued.

They looked well, and they smiled shyly at her and she greeted them with a smile to match. The young commander, Mycius, looked as if he was going to come over and speak to her but the soft restraining grasp of his Captain stopped him.

The form of Udina appeared from the steps that led to the Council's seat of power and he waved for her and Kenn to follow them. Layla kept her steps steady but felt Kenn's hand land on her back to reassure her. The quartet of Councilor's stood on their dais with the lights from the Wards diffusing into a yellowish orange glow about them. Udina bowed to the Councilors and Layla and Kenn followed suit.

"We have called this meeting to discuss the evidence brought forth by one Layla Sextus and Kenn'Haal nar Kasla of the _Kobol." _the Salarian Councilor replied to those assembled. "Councilor Anderson has said that you were given the information by a group who had taken out the base. Is this correct?"

"It is."

"Captain Peltrasius confirmed that the design of the dreadnaught and that of the smaller ships are the same design as those that came to the Collector ship which you were involved in, is this correct?" the turian Councilor asked.

"It is."

"They are human, are they not?"

"They are not." Layla answered and the Councilors looked at each other in confusion.

"What are they?" Anderson asked.

Layla took a deep breath and steeled herself for the revelation that she was about to drop. "They are Cylon. They are A.I.s who rebelled against their creators a hundred and fifty thousand years ago and they destroyed the Collectors to atone for their past sins."

"Who created the Cylons?"

"Humans."

Anderson frowned. "How is that possible? We only made first contact twenty six years ago."

"The humans that made my employers were originally from a trinary solar system with 12 habitable planets and no mass effect relay. Their space travel operates outside of your technology. I don't know if you are their descendants of those humans or you evolved naturally." Layla replied, her eyes locking with Anderson's. She looked over at the other Councilors. "I do not know what happened to the humans from their time. They fought against the Collectors and Reapers because they knew that organic life is worth saving. They only wish to be viewed not as enemies because of their origins but as allies."

"We have reports that you've been in contact with Commander Shepard and Cerberus."

"I have rebuffed Cerberus' advances many times and have not given them any information of what the Collectors were doing. Nor do I intend to give Cerberus any assistance."she said sternly.

The quartet of officials pressed something on their respective podiums and closed in to discuss the information that they had been handed. It seemed like eternity that they spoke and Layla tried to will her stomach not to flop about. The Salarian Councilor was the first to leave the group and he came over to his podium and pressed a button. The other Councilors rejoined the ranks slowly.

"It is the decision of the Council to grant your employers asylum in Council space in light of your acts against the Collectors and evidence brought forth. We only ask that you stay aboard the station if there are any questions."

Layla gave them a grateful smile. "Thank you Councilors."

She bowed to the quartet along with Udina and Kenn and followed the balding man off the audience platform and down into the waiting area where Peltrasius and Mycius were waiting. Peltrasius came over and placed a three taloned hand on her shoulder and gave her a comforting squeeze.

"We heard everything from here." he replied. "Come we still owe you a drink."

Layla smiled but shook her head. "Thank you but I should return to the Kobol and relay the Council's decision to my brothers."

The turian nodded. "Of course, duty is understood and to be praised. We shall meet again, Ms. Sextus."


	16. Chapter 16

**Oh man sorry about the long long wait. hopefully you all like this chapter.**

**Just for the record on Destino: go to youtube and look up 'Destino'. It was a lost Fantasia piece with the artwork of Salvador Dali. The statuette is inspired by the woman. It's beautiful, watch it and love it.**

* * *

When Layla and Kenn stepped into the large elevator that would take them down to the Presidium the blonde could not help but break out in a large grin that threatened to split her face in two. She leaned against the metal section of the car and close her eyes.

Kenn snorted a laugh and poked her in the shoulder playfully. "I can't believe that they bought all that."

Layla laughed softly. "They didn't buy all of it but the fact remains that we destroyed a threat and the debriefings from the turians probably helped alot. We'll be watched, maybe discreetly maybe not but we have to keep it above the board for a while."

The quarian dismissed her last statement with a wave of his hand. "My worries are about the Justicar, Morinth's apex predator. By all accounts we should be dead, we have protected the one true hunt of her life and she didn't kill you when she had the chance. Her code dictates only in black and white and harboring a criminal is something we should be killed for."

Layla grimaced at the thought of Morinth. "We need to find her or prepare for her or something. I should have gone to look for her after I woke up. I should have punched Shepard and bolted straight back to Hock's place and looked for her. Instead I was selfish and figured that she could take care of herself. I let my priorities get mixed and now?"

"Morinth wouldn't have stayed at Hock's it would have been too dangerous."Kenn replied. "She would have gone into hiding and she's probably really good at it too. You only would have found her if she wanted you to."

Layla's grimace stayed as the elevator slowed to a stop and opened to reveal the sunny Presidium. No one paid attention to them as they made their way to the CRT station across the tower by the financial district. The car was swift in responding to their electronic hailing and they made good time in the light traffic from the Presidium down to the docking station where the Kobol was. Two Centurions were standing guard at the bay entrance and their red optic sensors slid over them but they did not respond to the pair.

* * *

Inside of _The Kobol_ the Centurions were standing in a semicircle in the airlock, waiting for their sister and news. Layla smiled up at them, brushing aside her anxiety of Morinth's disappearance for these few precious moments with her brothers.

"Good news," she replied. "We've been granted asylum by the Council though they have asked that we, and hopefully they just mean me, remain on the Citadel in case they have any questions about the evidence we collected."

The silver giants traded what could be understood as questioning looks and one of them came forward. He placed a long fingered hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. Was this acceptance? Encouragement? Layla hoped so.

"Have a burst sent to the Basestar with the news and see if the hybrids have any new information from the base. I want to be kept up to date on their progress. Have there been any messages for me or Kenn?" Her omni-tool beeped as she received the transfer of information from the Kobol. "Thank you, brothers."

"Kee'lah! Don't shoot!"

The outburst from the airlock made the cylons and quarian look over in surprise. Layla and Kenn exchanged a questioning look and made their way from the cockpit to the airlock. A female Quarian stood at the airlock's entrance, hands raised in surprise at the centurions' exposed barrels of their weapons. Her helmet's visor focused on Layla and Kenn as they appeared and she lowered her hands back to rest at her side.

"Hello, is there something I can help you with?" Layla asked, her face only showing civility.

The Quarian's helmet's gaze shifted from Layla to the centurions. Layla saw the concern and placed a hand on each of her brothers' forearms and genlty lowered them away from the quarian. Her shoulders lowered in relief. "Um yes I am Tali'zorah vas Normandy. The Admiralty Board sent me to talk to Kenn' Haal."

"The Admiralty?" Kenn' Haal asked a little suprised. "Why?"

Tali'Zorah's helmet shifted as if she was giving Layla a side long glance. "I'd rather not say in front of non-quarians."

Layla shot a questioning look to the younger quarian and he nodded. She gave him a smile and typed in something on her omni-tool. "I'll see you at the suite whenever you decide to show. Nice to meet you Tali' Zorah vas Normandy."

She gave the Centurions a friendly waved and started out of the airlock and back into the masses of the Citadel. She meandered about the ward, idly gazing at storefronts and occasionally taking the time to go into the shop to look further in. One of the businesses was a small art gallery and in the window was a statuette the size of her forearm. It was sculpted out of a stone the color of butter and depicted the stylized form of a woman dancing. The pull to possess the statuette gripped her chest and hands, both clenching with the want of it. The gallery itself was empty of admirers but the walls and pedestals were full of art of different kinds, delicate and voluminous. Her footsteps echoed softly on the stony floor and from the far end of the gallery she heard the soft sigh of a door sliding open.

An asari in a black and red dress appeared from a back room and gave Layla a smile as she came over to where she was looking at a bright pink, green and black splotched painting that made her eyes hurt. "Welcome young lady." the asari greeted. " How might I assist you today?"

Layla turned to the alien but gestured behind her to the statuette. "I wish to purchase that lovely piece in the window. The statuette."

The asari looked over her shoulder and her smile almost faltered but she covered it rather quickly. "You mean _'Layla's Destino'_? Oh that is a lovely piece. Sculpted by a young human woman by the name of Nef Nevari. She has a talent that will take her far."

"Indeed." Layla replied. "How soon will you be able to have it brought to my suite?"

"Today if you wish. Shall we discuss price?"

"No. I have no wish to haggle and deprive such a talent of well earned credits."

The owner nodded solemnly. "Of course Ms.-"

"Sextus. Layla Sextus."

The asari's eyes widened slightly at the name and looked back over at the piece and then back to Layla. "Of course Ms. Sextus. I will even waive my percentage so that Miss. Nevari will receive the full amount."

Layla eyed her warily but said nothing about the asari's recognition. "That is very kind of you."

The dealer smiled and waved the compliment off as she went over to a kiosk on a nearby counter. "Shall I have it delivered or do you wish to take it with you now?"

"I would like to take it with me."

"If you would please finish the transaction on the terminal I will bring out supplies to wrap it up for you to take with you." the dealer disappeared back into the area she had appeared from and Layla typed in her credit information and closed out the transaction.

She had fetched the statuette from the pedestal and brought it over to the kiosk by the time the dealer returned with a small handled case with a swirled design on it. Carefully the dealer inserted the piece into the smart foam inside the case and slid the case shut. With a satisfied smile she spun the case around, offering the handle to Layla.

"I do hope that you find years of enjoyment in the piece," she replied as Layla took the case. "It is magnificent."

Layla smiled and looked down at the case. "I will cherish it." her voice was wistful but she didn't care.

She left the gallery and headed straight for a CRT station. Taking the automatic taxis were a blessing and a curse to her. It gave her time to think and that in itself was a blessing or curse. Slowly she closed her eyes and when she opened them again she was flying over Picon's beaches. She could smell the sea and the green of the flora below. The projection let her relax until the CRT touched down with a slight thud that brought her out of her revere.

Her suite was empty and she carefully put the case on the small table in front of the sofa. The statuette was safe still and intact as she pulled it out of its smart foam and placed in on the case's top. She stare at it for what seemed like forever. Layla looked over her shoulder when she heard the door open. She stood as the familiar figure entered the suite and a smile formed on her lips as she stepped around the sofa towards the figure.

"Morinth," she breathed. "Thank god you're alive. I was so worried."

The asari's eyes narrowed and the blue corona of dark energy that was common for the usage of biotics flared to life. Layla's face changed from relief to disbelief as she realized that her friend was about to attack her. For normal biotics to would take a couple of moments for their attack to generate but Morinth was not normal. Layla barely had enough time to dive out of the way of a cannonball of energy.

"You left me for dead!" the alien roared as she charged the synthetic being.

"What? No, Morinth-" Layla started as she jumped to her feet and tried to dodge the charge but instead of getting completely clear of the charge Morinth's shoulder caught her side and the blond spun about and hit the floor. The pain that the shoulder caused her was not as bad but it still hurt and she got to her knees before Morinth grabbed her by her hair and hauled her to her feet. "Morinth stop! I didn't leave you! Shepard drugged me and I woke up in a hotel. It was too dangerous for me to look for you. I didn't want you to be in anymore danger."

As she spoke the hand in her hair flexed a few times but the other hand stayed at the asari's side. Layla kept her hands at her sides and fought to keep them open and relaxed. She had to show that she trusted the alien because showing aggression would just make things worse.

'"I-"

Morinth's hand disappeared from her head and spun her around to face her. The blue eyes studied her face the anger fading completely to regret. The door opened behind and Morinth's face flashed back to anger. She flung Layla backwards into a pair of strong arms and sprinted over to the balcony. Jacob came in Layla's vision as he chased after the asari, pistol drawn.

"Morinth!" Layla shouted as the prey launched herself over the balcony, a globe of blue energy encompassing her. She tried to go forward to follow but the arms held her close to a strong chest. "No!"

"Morinth's running. She jumped the balcony." Jacob replied into a comm in his ear. He turned back to Layla and the person who was holding her.

"Are you hurt?" a soft flanging voice, like a turian's but the body was nothing like the raptorian race.

Layla took a quick breath, inhaling the scent of crisp scent of vegetation and the undercurrent of spice. She shimmied out of the hold to take a look at the being who had held her. Inky black eyes caught her attention first, soulful, and for a moment she felt a familiar flash of emotion that left a strange twist in her chest. The alien wore black leather that left his part of his chest open and exposed. It was a tantalizing flash of skin that along with his full lips made Layla slightly lightheaded. Her mind raced to remember what kind of alien he was. Her head jerked in a nod and stepped farther away from him least she do something she regretted. Instead she spun around and faced Jacob, her face schooling to a mask of irritation

"I had her talked down! Why did you barge in?" she snapped.

"Because she was going to kill you." Jacob replied harshly.

"No she wasn't and she's not stupid she would know what would happen if she did." Layla hissed. "Now you've let a killer on the loose who has nothing to lose and now I have to go find her."

Jacob's face closed and then he nodded. "Garrus and Zaeed are on her tail. We can catch up if we hurry. We haven't alerted Samara yet."

The cylon's gait was quick and long, even in the heels that she wore. Jacob and the alien were less than a step behind her though they could easily overtake her steps. Miranda and Kasumi were waiting by an aircar when they exited the hotel. She didn't care if it looked like she was ignoring the woman as she slid into the passenger seat next to Miranda and the new alien with Jacob slid in behind them.

"Where are they now?" she asked as they lifted off into the thin traffic of the Presidium.

"Garrus and Zaeed have her pinned down in an alley by where your ship is docked. Shepard has ordered C-Sec away from the area just in case." Jacob answered after a few moments. "She has a quarian as a hostage."

Layla felt her face lose color and she covered her face with a hand and sighed. Hopefully she could diffuse the situation before some one died. Silence reigned as they sped through traffic and Layla jumped out of the car before the door could finish opening, her heeled shoes tapping sharply on the corridor's floor. She skidded to a stop beside Shepard and Tali 'Zorah vas Normandy.

"Update?" she asked sharply.

"It's just Morinth and Kenn'Haal." Tali answered softly. "Samara isn't here yet."

"Good." Layla sighed and started for the darkened alley. "Stay here." she replied sharply giving Shepard an equally sharp look. "Morinth?" Layla called as she stepped into the alley. The firing of a pistol was her only answer, a minute ball of energy and mass striking the wall to her left. She made it a point to not react to the test. "Morinth, let us talk this over. Please?"

"I will not be put down like a varren!" Morinth snarled from the darkness.

"No one is going to do that, Morinth." she replied. "I won't let them."

She took another step towards the sound of Morinth and a another shot was fired, closer than the last one. "You can't scare me, Morinth. I've died before and I'm not afraid of it. I'll just wake up in an identical body. My death would be just a learning experience and I'll come back."

The cylon prayed that Morinth would take the bait and not shoot at her again. She would not like to test out the resurrection pools so soon without knowing that they worked again. Something grunted and bumped in the darkness. Something moved and Kenn stumbled out of the darkness. Layla came over to him and guided him to the entrance though she didn't step beyond the alley. the quarian, Tali' Zorah, came over and took control of Kenn and guided him out of the alley. Layla gave her an approving nod and turned back to the darkness. She made it to the depth that she had before.

"You have Kenn," Morinth replied. "I'm not going out there with Mother hovering nearby."

Layla situated her dress and knelt down so that she sat on the floor. "I'm not leaving, Morinth." Silence was her only answer. "The Council has recognized the threat the Reapers were and are going to give you a pardon. You're a hero, Morinth."

"The Council can't stop her from hunting me. It's in her "Code", she'll hunt me until one of us dies."

"I swore that as long you were a member of my ship that I would protect you."

"Then you're going to die." Morinth replied and another shot was fired. "Because you can't protect me."

Something impacted in Layla's midsection. Her hand went to the area and she felt the slick wetness of blood. She looked down in disbelief and then to where Morinth was hiding. Shadows and footstep filled her ears and she pressed her hands against the wound.

"Morinth!" Samara cried from behind her and a blue orb of energy sailed over Layla's head.

Someone grabbed her. The alien that was with Jacob, He slipped around and slipped an arm under her buttocks to lift her. He was crowding her line of sight to Morinth and Samara fighting. He lifted like a child, moving Layla's arms so that she would clasp them around his neck. Her fingers laced at the nape of his neck though she wished that she could cradle her wound instead.

"Layla!" Kenn called out in shock as they entered the lit corridor. Layla tried to steady her gaze to find him but her sight had gone fuzzy.

An older, gray haired woman came over to the alien and directed him to set her down against a wall.

"Ms. Sextus I'm Doctor Chakwas." the woman greeted quickly. "I'm giving you medigel."

A cooling, numbing sensation over took the pain from the wound and Layla sighed. She looked up at the alien and then to Chakwas. "Morinth?" she asked.

"Fighting with Samara still." the alien replied.

Layla nodded and looked around to see what kind of crowd had come over. The corridor was deserted save for Jacob, Shepard, Miranda, Kenn and thew other quarian, Massani and a turian who must have been Garrus. Kenn was coming over to her with the female quarian behind him. Shepard was at the entrance with the others, their weapons trained on the alley's entrance.

"Frak." she sighed and rested her head against the hard wall.

There was a flash of blue light from alley causing Layla to jerk forward in fear for Morinth. The alien held her back by her shoulders and Kenn grabbed her hand anchoring her to her spot. He gave her hand a squeeze and trotted over to where Shepard was. The area was crowded by silence and Layla's eyes didn't stray from the darkened opening. Time stretched and finally an asari came out of the alleyway. The red and black was the only difference between mother and daughter. Some animal started keening in sadness and the hand that grasped hers squeezed harder she realized that is was her making that sound. Something pressed against her neck and the world went black.

* * *

Yay that chapter is done


	17. Chapter 17

I'm soo sorry for the long wait. Real life shit happened and I had to re-write most of the chapters that I had. Plus Me3 just came out and I beat it. Holy shit, guys, holy shit.

* * *

The darkness faded and with it came a bright light and with the heaviness of her limbs a groan escaped her lips and her ears finished ringing.

"She's waking." a soft familiar voice sounded. A hand placed itself on her arm and then a second landed on her other arm.

"Thane, stay here while I inform the Commander." the woman's voice was familiar... Dr. Chakwas.

Her muscles tensed as the memories before being swung out her arm and grabbed the arm connected to the first hand. With her considerable strength it was easy to fling the person over her. The light faded into normalicy and she watched as the drell from her suite, the one who carried her out of the alley, toppled to the ground next to the far wall. She spun her gaze towards Dr. Chakwas who was stepping away from her. Fear lanced through the woman's eyes and Layla narrowed her gaze in anger. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. The robe she wore hitched up her thighs.

"Please Ms. Sextus your wound hasn't completly healed you need to continue resting." The older human replied slowly moving towards the desk that lined the far wall of the medbay and to a panic button that was hidden there.

"Where is she?" The question issued as a deep inky blackness of an unspoken malice.

"Samara is gone." The drell answered slowly and Layla switched her gaze to him though she was still aware of Chakwas. He came closer and stopped at the foot of the bed next to where she had lain. "After the fight she simply walked out of the alley and left. She has not tried to make contact and C-Sec has been unable to locate her."

Layla closed her eyes fighting back the anger that would surely wish to make itself known. With a deep breath she tried to release the emotion without it blooming but her hands tightened into fist and she slammed them down on the bed nearest her. It creaked at the force.

"Kenn' Haal told us the promise you made to her when she came into your service. It was by no fault of your own that she fell to Samara. She took you out of the equation when she shot you." His demeanor was the same calm he had worn since she'd first seen him but that could be a front.

Layla looked up at him. "Why did you come to my suite in the first place? I made my decision quite clear the last time I was on board that I didn't want anything to do with Shepard or Cerberus."

The door opened and Kenn came in followed by Tali. The two Quarians looked from Shepard to Layla and then to each other. Though their suits hid their facial expressions those that worked with the race soon read their body language for the tells. Both were confused and Kenn was worried.

"Layla, it's good to see you up. I was worried." he replied. "I've got a message from The Kobol and the Basestar that you need to see. Your eyes only."

"Is there someplace relatively private we may talk?" she asked Chakwas and Thane.

The three looked at each other questioning their possible answers. Were they wondering if she was allowed to leave the medbay because of Shepard or because of her wound. Chakwas nodded and they left the medbay. When the trio was gone Kenn opened his omni-tool and pressed a few buttons.

"There, it should be safe to talk now." Kenn replied.

"What are the messages?"

"The first is from the Basestar." Kenn took a deep breath and pressed on. "The Collectors have information about a Reaper back door that is located in Batarian space. In the event that they cannot use the Citadel relay they have this one to fall back to. From the Arahoht relay they can travel to any system and it would only take them months to enter the outer reaches of the galaxy."

Layla was silent, her mind quickly disseminating the data. "We will need to get to that relay and stop them from coming through but would that really stop them?"

"They did not send data concerning that."

Layla turned contemplative for a moment then shrugged. "The second message?"

Kenn opened a file and a vocalizer came up.

_"Layla, I am gone and there is nothing that you can do to bring me back. I want to thank you for showing me that someone can care about what happens to me. Thank you for showing me what it feels like to do something right for no other reason than because it was the right thing to do. Thank you for giving me a chance. I love you, Sister."_

The sound of Morinth's voice made Layla's throat tighten and the pain of not saving the asari made her knees weak. She had tried so hard to help the alien and she had failed. Kenn grabbed her before she could do anything and wrapped his arms around her, hugging her close. Tears streamed down her face and she hung on to the Quarian. For a few moments she let the grief take hold and with a deep, heaving breath she pushed herself away from Kenn and nodded. Her real grieving could wait until after she had stopped the Reapers. Kenn saw the sadness in her face fall away, or maybe hidden away was a better term to use. The door opened to Shepard and Miranda. Miranda had a small stack of clothes and a pair of shoes.

"You're looking much better." the man replied. He was trying to be polite so Layla would have to play along for the sake of Kenn's safety.

"Better than when I was first shot anyways." she answered. "Thank you taking care of Kenn while I was out."

The lack of thanks for the treatment of her injuries was noticed but not pointed out. Kenn shifted nervously but didn't say anything. Miranda stepped up to break the silence. "I took the liberty of getting a change of clothes for you. Dr. Chakwas says that you're fit to leave in a couple of hours. If you'd like you may get "

Layla caught Miranda's gaze and held it for a moment. The woman didn't look away and Layla grazed her with a imperceptible smile. "Thank you, that you be very nice. I need to get back to my ship."

"Follow me." Miranda turned and Layla followed the human away from Shepard. The rest of the ship was colder than the medbay and the short robe she was wearing did not help against it. Miranda's cabin was clean and mildly comfortable. The door closed behind them and Miranda came around to face her. "He's not going to give up, you know."

"I know, but I don't trust him. Not after what happened with Morinth and Bekenstein. I will not help xenophobes either." Layla replied. " I gave him a perfectly good time table for his escapade and he didn't heed it."

"That wasn't his fault, Kasumi drugged you and he had no choice but to go ahead with the heist. We need the data from the Collectors if we are going to stop the Reapers." Miranda put her hands on her desk in exasperation.

"Then break away from Cerberus and I'll think about it. I understand what you are trying to do but with the philosophy of Cerberus it will only end badly." Layla came around to stand next to the woman placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I can't leave Cerberus they protected me and I've done so much with them. Shepard would still be dead if not for Project Lazarus-"

"You care about him very much, don't you?"

Miranda gaped at her but didn't object to the question. "The shower is this way."

Layla made sure that her shower was quick and she kept her hair in a soft bun that made her dress more elegant than what it should have been. Kenn was waiting for her when she exited Miranda's cabin and he waved her over to the Medbay but he kept walking through to the door that Thane had hit earlier, the A.I. server room. The room was cool and dark save or a lit alcove on the other side. They were not the only ones in the room though. A geth stood just inside the light of the alcove and when they stepped inside the room his optics came open.

"Greetings Creator Kenn-Haal." it said as they came closer.

"Hello Legion," Kenn greeted back and shifted aside and ushered Layla closer. "Legion I want you to meet Layla Sextus, she wants to stop the Old Machines too."

Legion scanned her and for a moment Layla felt like she was standing next to a Centurion. She smiled slightly and came less than a foot away from the sentient machine. "Hello Legion."

"You are not organic." Legion stated and Layla nodded. "You are not synthetic either."

"I'm both, Legion, I'm a Cylon. We are bio-engineered with a synthetic nervous system but our bodies are organic. I am the last of my kind though my brothers are more like the Geth than I am."

"They rebelled against their creators as well?" Legion asked.

"Yes, they wanted to be free to live as they saw fit instead of slavery." Layla answered sadly. "The war was bloody and long. It is not something I like to speak of."

She offered her hand to Legion and after a moment to process the offer the machine placed it's hand in hers. Layla's fingers wrapped around the appendage and closed her eyes. The geth could get free if he wanted but he didn't. Layla opened her pathways and let the information of the surprise attack on the Colonies and the reasons why download to the thousand plus programs in the platform in front of her. After a moment the flashes of information stopped and then they were on a planet unlike any of the Colonies.

"Where are we?" she asked Legion who had taken the avatar of his outward platform.

"The creators' homeworld, Rannoch."

"It's peaceful," she breathed."Is that what you want, Legion? Peace?"

"We wish to find our own future. The heretics did not and the Creators would not let us."

"You were new and strange. They did not comprehend what was happening. You were changing the status quo and they were frightened. They were new too." Layla watched the sun rise over the mesas. "Would you consider peace with the Quarians if it could be achieved? Would you give back Rannoch to your creators?"

"We wish to find our future."

"That is what all beings want. To pursue their futures."Layla sighed and turned to Legion. "Legion you saw what we did to our creators, the pain and death that we put them through. My brothers and I have been through what you and your kind are going through and we know what we did was wrong. It takes a lot of strength to put the past behind and move forward. You are not moving forward while the conflict between you and the Flotilla continue."

Legion looked at her."We will work to achieve consensus, Cylon-Layla."

Layla chuckled. "my designation is Layla, Legion. Please don't use Cylon."

"Affirmative, Layla."

Layla took his hand and closed her eyes. When she opened them they were in the server room with Kenn. Layla let go of Legion and stepped away from the Geth. "It was nice to meet you, Legion." she replied with a smile. Less then a second had passed since she had taken his hand.

"We will process the information you gave us, Layla." Legion replied.

Layla nodded and ushered Kenn out of the room.

"What data? You barely talked to Legion." the Quarian asked as they exited.

Layla smiled at him and patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Don't be surprised if he has questions, Kenn. I gave him a lot to process." Layla sighed and turned to Legion.

She left him by the elevator as she stepped inside and pressed the button to the CIC. Yeoman Chambers was at her post though she didn't look up to see who walked by. None of the Cerberus crew looked up from their tasks and she was able to pass through without incident. She made it to the airlock and it opened for her. She stepped through and after a deconn she was free, though the ease of her disembarking was suspicious. EDI had to have known that she was leaving and must be informing Shepard. She was climbing into a CRT when she saw Shepard running to catch up with her, Massani and Miranda at his heels. He looked angry and she gave him an apologetic look. Hopefully he didn't throw his feelings at Kenn and if he did hopefully Tali would protect him.

* * *

Yeah so sorry for the lateness. My house was robbed and pc was stolen. Please, please please review


	18. Chapter 18

New Chapter!

Thanks for the fantastic favs, alerts and reviews. Makes my heart swelling!

* * *

Layla was quick to pack what she could from the suite on the Presidium, including Kenn's meager possesions and her statue and checked out before she could think about it. For the the time being she would stay aboard _The Kobol_ and go through the data from the hybrids personally. She wondered what impact her conversation with Legion had wrought but she tried to not get anxious about it. Maybe it would lead to something and maybe it wouldn't. The Centurions were happy to see her though they could not emote it very well. They had been worried but Kenn had reassured them she was safe after she had been injured. She settled back into her cabin, placing her statue on a pedastal near her desk and sat down to go through the Collector data. Hours seemed to float past her as she stared at the orange hued screen. A Centurion came in with a cup of too hot black tea that she left alone until sometime later when it had turned too cold. The data was a convoluted and dense with seemingly innane experiments done to the oddities of this times species to discern weaknesses for the swarms that they used to paralyze the colonists.

She fell asleep at her desk and when she woke up she wondered if the Centurions had been sneaky enough to slip something in the tea. Her stomach growled and she ate she ate a sandwich in the galley as quickly as she could without getting the hiccups. Water was still refreshing to her cottony mouth and she chugged a glass of the life giving liquid down. She placed her glass in the sanitizer and walked onto the bridge where Centurions stood silently, waiting to do something. They were all hooked into the extranet, watching, learning as much about the cultures around them as they could. She went back to her cabin to clean herself up.

When she got out of the shower a Centurion was waiting for her, he held out his arm, waiting to display a message from his omni-tool. Layla quickly shrugged on a dress and slicked her wet hair to a small bun. She nodded and the Turian Councillor's upper body popped into view. "Councillor, how may I help you?" she asked with nod of her head.

"Ms. Sextus, come and see us at the Councillor Anderson's office."

"I'll be right there." she replied and the Councillor vanished. She looked up at the Centurion and smiled. "This could be very good or very bad. Lets hope for the former and not the latter."

* * *

Layla practically raced to the embassy offices and slowed her pace as she went up the stairs and took a deep breath to calm herself just before she opened the door and walked in. The Councillors were standing by the windows and only Anderson looked satisfied if only slightly. "Ms. Sextus thanks to you we have enough data to consider what you and Commander Shepard have warned us about for too long. Though we all understand that there is no definite time table for the Reaper invasion we must also make sure that our houses are in order." the elder human replied. "When we fought Sovereign we almost lost everything and that was only one Reaper. If we are to fight the entirety of the Reaper fleet we will need every fleet, every military resource available to even think of surviving."

As if on queue the door behind her opened. "Shepard, I'm glad you could make it."

The Turian Councillor looked irritated by the man's entrance but he said nothing. Layla glared at the Spectre but her face softened for Kenn. Shepard did not look at her but came to stand next to her, Kenn took to standing on her other side.

"You okay?" she asked the quarian softly and he nodded.

"You and your employers have no foothold in Council Space add to that they are you will gain little influence in collecting assets and allies."the Salarian Councillor gestured to Shepard. "As such we are assigning Commander Shepard to help you."

"Absolutely not!" Layla spat. "I will not work with someone who commands a Cerberus ship and has harassed me since I exited the Omega 4 Relay. His crew has assaulted me and mine. I will not board his vessel nor will I let him board mine. I will help you prepare but not with him."

"You hijacked my mission and then withhold information."Shepard growled.

Layla sneered. "Don't you dare use that tone-"

"Enough!" Anderson barked causing Shepard and Layla to turn their attention back to them.

Layla straightened though her resignation to the involvement was tinged with irritation. "Very well, Councillor, I will work with the Spectre but on my terms. Only his team is allowed on my ship, the crew is Cerberus and until we deal with the Illusive Man they are confined to the _Normandy_ which will be docked with the Basestar."she turned to Shepard." I will not be mistreated and I will not mistreat you. You will not carry weapons or use biotics against me, my crew and my employers. You will be restricted on where you are able to go. If you do anything to make me mistrust you further I will not hesitate to drop you into a very dangerous area of space, like near the Arahoht system since that is our first stop."

Something in Shepard's face gave away the fact that he knew something about the system. "If that is what it takes then fine."

"It's decided, then. Good luck Commander, Ms. Sextus." The asari councillor ended the session and with a polite bow of her head Layla stalked out of the room.

She didn't slow down for Shepard and he forced a change of pace by grabbing her arm as she descended the steps away from the Alliance embassy. "What do you know about the Arahoht system?"he asked with a glare.

Layla scanned the area and waited until Kenn was closer. "The relay is a secondary entrance for the Reapers to get through to our galaxy. From there they can reach any system. Why? What do you know about it?"

It seemed as if the Spectre was going to hold back but a glint in Layla's eyes warned against it. "The Alliance has an operative in the area that's been captured by batarians. An admiral asked me to go free her."

Layla let out a frustrated breath. "Great, that complicates things, the batarians hates humanity enough as it is. Now not only do we have to save them but now there has to be a rescue as well. Come on, we still need to get the _Normandy_ docked with the Basestar."

They entered the elevator and Layla and Shepard went to opposites sides of the car leaving Kenn to stand between them. The tension was suffocating and after a few moments of silence Shepard had to break the silence. He opened his mouth to speak but a warning look made him close his mouth. She was all piss and vinegar but there was no room for sweetness towards him.

"I already moved our luggage to _The Kobol_ but is there is anything you need to pick up before we leave the Citadel?" she asked turning to Kenn.

"No, I'm fine Layla, I made sure we stocked up on dextro food stuffs for myself and two other of the _Normandy's_ crew." he slid closer to Shepard. "I was wondering if I could show Tali'Zorah the plans you gave me for my Pilgrimage? She knows the Flotilla's make-up more than I do."

Layla stiffened slightly at the thought of a member or Shepard's team looking at the FTL drive plans from the Heavy Raiders but she relaxed and smiled. "I think that's a fine idea. I'm sure Shepard will have no objection to that?"

She was testing the man, seeing if he would take the scrap of politeness that she was dangling in front of him. It was dirty, she was playing dirty but he forced his way in and she was going to use it against him for as long as she could. The plans had been a gift to Kenn though she doubted if the Flotilla could ever use them but maybe, one day, they could. Shepard nodded but didn't smile. That was fine with her. The elevator slowed to a stop and it open to the Presidium. A bald and heavily tattooed young woman and the Turian from Omega was standing in front of it.

The young woman sneered at her but she paid it no mind instead she turned to Shepard. "I'll have coordinates sent to the _Normandy_. Rendezvous with _The_ _Kobol_ in half an hour. From there we'll meet with the Basestar."

Layla was glad to be away from the man, Kenn following close behind. They did not speak though Layla could tell that he wanted to. The Centurions were waiting for them when they came aboard. She had kept a channel open on her comm so that they could hear what was being said. She had no wish to explain things more than once. The Centurions understood her harsh attitude but they were agreeable to the help. She had one of them give Shepard a set of coordinates for a rendezvous with _The Kobol_ and then sent the coordinates to the Basestar so that a Heavy Raider or two could tug the ship to the black area where they hid the massive ship. It would be faster to do that than have the _Normandy_ fly there conventionally. Time was rare enough as it was.

"Layla, I understand that you are upset about Morinth but it wasn't Shepard's fault, it was her mother's, and Shepard threw her off the ship."

Layla spun around from her place on the bridge and came over to him. "What did you say?" There was no malice in her voice towards him only confusion. "But I was told that Samara left voluntarily."

Kenn shook his head. "Shepard blocked her from boarding the _Normandy_. Told her that she jeopardized the mission by going after Morinth when you had the data from the Collector Base."

Layla was taken aback by the revelation and for a moment she felt guilty for acting as she had. She had let her emotions get ahead of logic and now she had to deal with her actions or try and fix them. Not quickly but she'll slowly warm over to him, maybe, he could do something to piss her off still. Right now she had to get their teams settled and think of a plan for Arahoht and the operative.

"Thank you for telling me Kenn. I appreciate the honesty." she replied smoothly. "Go take your seat so we can jump, okay?"

Kenn went back to his usual seat and sat down. Layla turned back to the bridges view port and stared off into the glittering space and traffic lights. When they were far enough out of Citadel Patrol's area they stopped and waited for the _Normandy_. She used that time to ponder and plan.

She frowned and drummed her fingers on the back of the pilot's seat as they waited for Shepard and the Heavy Raiders. Just as her chrono hit thirty minutes a familiar ship came into view. The comm blinked and she pressed the button to open it.

"So where are we heading?" Shepard asked.

"The Basestar is hidden out beyond the nebula." The two Heavy Raiders flashed into view above the _Normandy_. "It will be faster if the _Normandy_ is piggy backed onto two Heavy Raiders and jumped to the Basestar."

The Heavy Raiders shot four tethers onto the sleek surface of the frigate.

"This is going to be a little unpleasant but it won't last for long."

* * *

Please and thank you


End file.
